macOS Pages Integration

Create, read, edit, and export Apple Pages documents using AppleScript (osascript) on macOS.

Setup

Prerequisites

macOS with Pages.app installed (comes pre-installed or free from the App Store)
Terminal with Automation permission for Pages.app

Grant Permissions

Required macOS permissions (System Settings > Privacy & Security):

Permission	Location	Required For
Automation	Privacy & Security > Automation	Controlling Pages.app via AppleScript

The first time you run an osascript command targeting Pages, macOS will prompt you to allow automation access. Click "OK" to grant it.

Commands

Open a Document

osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to open POSIX file "/path/to/document.pages"'

Create a New Blank Document

osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to make new document'

Create a Document with Initial Text

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  set newDoc to make new document
  tell body text of newDoc
    set every paragraph to "Hello, this is my document."
  end tell
end tell'

Get Document Text

# Get all body text from the front document
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to return body text of front document'

Get Document Name

osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to return name of front document'

Get Document Properties

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  set doc to front document
  return {name of doc, modified of doc, file of doc}
end tell'

Count Pages

osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to return count of pages of front document'

Add Text to a Document

# Append a paragraph at the end
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell body text of front document
    set after last paragraph to "New paragraph added at the end." & return
  end tell
end tell'

Set Paragraph Style (Headings, Body, etc.)

Pages uses named paragraph styles. Common built-in styles: "Title", "Subtitle", "Heading", "Heading 2", "Heading 3", "Body", "Caption".

# Set the first paragraph to Heading style
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell body text of front document
    set paragraph style of paragraph 1 to paragraph style "Heading" of front document
  end tell
end tell'

Set Text Formatting (Bold, Italic, Size, Font)

# Make the first paragraph bold and 18pt
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell body text of front document
    set bold of paragraph 1 to true
    set size of paragraph 1 to 18
  end tell
end tell'

# Set font family
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell body text of front document
    set font of paragraph 1 to "Helvetica Neue"
  end tell
end tell'

Working with Tables

# Count tables in the document
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  return count of tables of front document
end tell'

# Get cell value (row, column)
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell table 1 of front document
    return value of cell 1 of row 1
  end tell
end tell'

# Set cell value
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell table 1 of front document
    set value of cell 1 of row 1 to "Header"
    set value of cell 2 of row 1 to "Value"
    set value of cell 1 of row 2 to "Item A"
    set value of cell 2 of row 2 to "100"
  end tell
end tell'

# Get table dimensions
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  tell table 1 of front document
    return {row count, column count}
  end tell
end tell'

Export Documents

Pages supports exporting to multiple formats.

# Export as PDF
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  export front document to POSIX file "/tmp/output.pdf" as PDF
end tell'

# Export as Microsoft Word (.docx)
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  export front document to POSIX file "/tmp/output.docx" as Microsoft Word
end tell'

# Export as plain text
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  export front document to POSIX file "/tmp/output.txt" as unformatted text
end tell'

# Export as EPUB
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  export front document to POSIX file "/tmp/output.epub" as EPUB
end tell'

Set Document Password

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  set password of front document to "mypassword"
end tell'

Print a Document

# Print with default settings
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  print front document
end tell'

# Print without showing the dialog
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  print front document with properties {showing print dialog:false}
end tell'

Close a Document

# Close saving changes
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to close front document saving yes'

# Close without saving
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to close front document saving no'

# Close and ask user
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to close front document saving ask'

Save a Document

# Save (existing file)
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to save front document'

# Save to a specific path
osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  save front document in POSIX file "/Users/Dmytro/Documents/my-doc.pages"
end tell'

List Open Documents

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  set docNames to {}
  repeat with d in documents
    set end of docNames to name of d
  end repeat
  return docNames
end tell'

Best Practices

File Paths

Always use POSIX file "/absolute/path" when passing file paths to AppleScript
Use absolute paths, not relative ones

Document Lifecycle

Open or create a document
Make edits
Save or export
Close when done

Performance

For large documents, avoid reading the entire body text repeatedly
When editing many cells in a table, batch operations where possible
Pages.app must be running for AppleScript commands to work (it will launch automatically if not running)

Safety

Always save before closing if changes matter
Use saving ask when unsure whether to keep changes
Export a backup before making bulk edits

Common Use Cases

Create a Report

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  set doc to make new document
  tell body text of doc
    set paragraph style of paragraph 1 to paragraph style "Title" of doc
    set every paragraph to "Monthly Report" & return & return
    set after last paragraph to "Summary" & return
    set paragraph style of paragraph 3 to paragraph style "Heading" of doc
    set after last paragraph to "This report covers the key metrics for the month." & return
  end tell
end tell'

Extract Text for Processing

# Save document text to a file for further processing
osascript -e 'tell application "Pages" to return body text of front document' > /tmp/doc-text.txt

Batch Export All Open Documents to PDF

osascript -e '
tell application "Pages"
  repeat with doc in documents
    set docName to name of doc
    set exportPath to "/tmp/" & docName & ".pdf"
    export doc to POSIX file exportPath as PDF
  end repeat
end tell'

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"not authorized" error	Grant Automation permission to terminal for Pages.app
Pages not responding	Quit and relaunch Pages.app, then retry
Export fails	Ensure the target directory exists and is writable
"Can't get document" error	Make sure a document is open in Pages
Style not found	Check exact style name with `paragraph styles of front document`

Technical Notes

Uses AppleScript via osascript (no private APIs)
Pages.app launches automatically when targeted by AppleScript
All operations are performed through the Pages scripting dictionary
Requires macOS with Pages.app (included with macOS or free from App Store)

macos-pages