SnapPackPack hands-free: how to use Siri with your SnapPack packing list
Siri, Spotlight and the Shortcuts app are built into every iPhone and iPad, and SnapPack plugs its actions into all three. Siri is the voice: say a command and your list updates. Spotlight is the search bar on your Home Screen. Shortcuts is Apple's automation app, already installed, which turns a task into a single tap or a scheduled routine. SnapPack hands each of them the same ready-made actions, so there is nothing to install or build. Everything on this page works the moment the app is on your phone.
Siri is the fastest of the three, and it works out of the box on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or later, in all nine languages the app speaks. Say what you want, end the sentence with "in SnapPack", and Siri ticks items off, adds new ones or reads out what is still missing. Your hands stay in the suitcase and your phone can stay across the room.
Every Siri command at a glance
One rule covers everything: end with "in SnapPack". Siri also understands "Snap Pack" and even "Snapback", so a slightly mangled app name still works.
Wherever the examples below say "Paris", swap in your own trip. Siri matches whatever name the trip has in your app, so if your next trip is called Tokyo, say "pack everything for Tokyo in SnapPack".
| Say this | What happens |
|---|---|
| "Hey Siri, let's pack in SnapPack" | Starts a hands-free packing session. Siri reads what is still to pack and ticks items as you name them. |
| "Mark passport packed in SnapPack" | Ticks one item, no session needed. |
| "Pack everything for Paris in SnapPack" | Marks the whole list packed in one sentence. |
| "Unpack everything for Paris in SnapPack" | Resets the packing list. |
| "What's left to pack in SnapPack" | Siri reads out what is missing and shows the items with their stickers. |
| "Add sunscreen to my trip in SnapPack" | Adds one item, with its sticker if you already own it. |
| "Add to Paris in SnapPack" | Starts an adding session for several items at once. |
| "Open Paris in SnapPack" | Opens the trip. |
| "Create a trip in SnapPack" | Makes a new trip. Siri asks where to, and takes dates too. |
| "Duplicate Paris in SnapPack" | Copies a trip, packing list included (SnapPack Pro). |
| "When is my next trip in SnapPack" | Tells you how many days until departure. |
| "What trips are coming up in SnapPack" | Lists upcoming trips, nearest first, with a card. |
Packing by voice
Say "Hey Siri, let's pack in SnapPack" and Siri opens a packing session: it reads a few of the items still to pack and asks which ones to tick. Answer with as many as you like, "cap, sunglasses and passport" or just "cap sunglasses passport", and Siri ticks them and tells you how many are left. After each answer it asks "Anything else?", so you can keep going until the bag is closed.
Inside a session, a few phrases do special work:
- Several at once: "AirPods, passport and charger".
- Untick something: "take out cap". The item stays on your list.
- Everything at once: "the rest" or "pack everything".
- Start over: "take out everything".
- Something not on the list yet: just name it, and Siri offers to add it as packed.
- Finish: "no", "that's it" or "done".
For a single item there is no need for a session: "Hey Siri, mark passport packed in SnapPack" does it in one line. And to check on progress from the sofa, ask "Hey Siri, what's left to pack in SnapPack". Variants like "what do I still need to pack" and "anything left for Paris" work too.
Adding items by voice
Say "Hey Siri, add to Paris in SnapPack" and Siri asks what to add. Answer with one thing or several: "sunscreen, a hat and flip-flops". Items you already own arrive with their photo sticker; new ones are created for you. Siri keeps asking "Anything else?" until you say no.
For one item in one breath: "Hey Siri, add sunscreen to my trip in SnapPack". Phrasings like "add to my list" and "put sunscreen on my packing list" work as well.
Trips by voice
Siri opens, creates and reports on trips too. "Open my trip in SnapPack" or "Open Paris in SnapPack" jumps straight to a trip. "Create a trip in SnapPack" starts a new one: Siri asks where to, and you can include the dates in your answer, "Lisbon from the 3rd of November to the 10th". With SnapPack Pro, "Duplicate Paris in SnapPack" copies a past trip so you can start from a list that already worked.
Two questions are handy in the run-up: "When is my next trip in SnapPack" ("Your next trip is Paris, in 12 days, leaving Oct 12") and "What trips are coming up in SnapPack", which lists them nearest first.
Which trip does Siri mean?
When you don't name a trip, SnapPack picks the one that matters now: the trip you are on today, otherwise the next one coming up, otherwise one without dates yet. If two trips are equally likely, Siri asks "Which trip?". Naming the trip skips the guessing: "for Paris", "to Paris", "open Paris".
Spotlight search
Swipe down on the Home Screen and type a trip or an item. "Paris" opens the trip; "sunscreen" opens the sticker. The Siri actions above appear there too when you type "SnapPack", so everything is reachable by keyboard as well as by voice.
Automate it with Shortcuts
Shortcuts is the automation app mentioned at the top: preinstalled by Apple, and the place where SnapPack's ready-made actions live as tiles. Open it and every action on this page is waiting under SnapPack, with nothing to build first. The same tiles are what Siri and Spotlight use when you speak or type a command.
Where to find them: open the Shortcuts app and stay on the Shortcuts tab. Scroll down past any shortcuts of your own and you will reach a section headed SnapPack, with every action listed as a tile. Tap a tile to run it on the spot, or tap it in the editor to drop it into a shortcut you are building. If the section is not there yet, open SnapPack once and come back: iOS registers an app's actions the first time the app runs.
The tiles are where automations start: mark everything packed when you leave for the airport, or have your phone read out what is still missing every evening in the week before a trip. Actions that normally ask questions can be set not to, for automations that must run silently.
Why voice suits a photo packing list
Voice control and photo stickers solve the same problem from two ends: keeping your eyes and hands on the actual packing.
- No wet-hands problem. Rolling clothes, holding toiletries, wrangling kids: packing is exactly when you cannot hold a phone.
- Your items, your words. Siri matches names against your own collection, so "jacket" finds your Jacket sticker even if you also own a Rain jacket.
- Everything stays in sync. Whatever Siri changes shows up in the app straight away, on every device signed in to your iCloud.
- The list stays honest. Ticking by voice as each item physically goes in the bag keeps the rule intact: not ticked means not packed.
Tips when Siri mishears
- Say the app name at the end of the sentence, not the start.
- Siri sometimes hears "unpack" as "pack". If an item comes back as "already packed", say "take out" instead.
- Item names are matched against your own collection, so short natural names work best.
SnapPack and Siri FAQ
Does SnapPack work with Siri?
Yes. SnapPack has built-in Siri support on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or later. There is nothing to set up and nothing to switch on: say a command that ends with "in SnapPack" and Siri ticks items off, adds new ones, opens trips or reads out what is still missing, in all nine languages SnapPack speaks.
Which trip does Siri use if I don't name one?
The one that matters now: the trip you are on today, otherwise the next one coming up, otherwise a trip without dates yet. If two trips are equally likely, Siri asks which one you mean. Naming the trip, as in "what's left for Paris", skips the guessing.
What is the Shortcuts app, and do I need to install it?
Shortcuts is Apple's automation app and it comes preinstalled on every iPhone and iPad, so there is nothing to download. It turns multi-step tasks into a single tap or a scheduled routine, and apps can supply it with ready-made actions. SnapPack supplies all of its Siri actions, so they appear as tiles under SnapPack the first time you open Shortcuts.
Can I use SnapPack with the Shortcuts app?
Yes. Every Siri action is also a tile in the Shortcuts app under SnapPack, so you can build automations: mark everything packed when you leave for the airport, or have your phone read out what is still missing every evening in the week before a trip. Actions that normally ask questions can be set not to, so automations run silently.
Do Siri commands need SnapPack Pro?
No. Every voice command works in the free app except duplicating a trip, which is a SnapPack Pro feature.
Pack with your hands in the suitcase
SnapPack turns photos of your real stuff into a packing list you can run entirely by voice. Free on the App Store.
