Log water with Siri, Shortcuts and the Action Button

2026-10-30

You can log water by voice without any setup: say "Hey Siri, log water in Water Tracker" and Siri adds a glass and tells you how much is left. For more control, the Shortcuts app lets you create a one-tap or one-phrase action for your own bottle size, assign it to the Action Button, or run it from an automation. Here is how to set up each one, and which automations are actually worth it.

Why log by voice or button?

The moments when you drink are often the moments your hands are busy: cooking, driving, carrying groceries, finishing a workout. If logging requires unlocking your phone and opening an app, those drinks go unrecorded. Siri and the Action Button let you log in a couple of seconds, wherever your phone is.

Siri phrases that work out of the box

Apps can offer built-in "app shortcuts" that Siri understands as soon as the app is installed. Apple's guide to running app shortcuts explains where to find them in the Shortcuts app.

With Water Tracker you can say:

"Hey Siri, log water in Water Tracker"
"Hey Siri, log a glass of water in Water Tracker"
"Hey Siri, I drank water in Water Tracker"

Each of these logs one glass at your chosen glass size, and Siri answers with something like "Logged 250 ml. 1.5 l to go." Once you reach your goal, the answer changes to a congratulation.

To check your progress:

"Hey Siri, how much water did I drink in Water Tracker?"
"Hey Siri, water progress in Water Tracker"

Siri replies with your total, your goal and the percentage. The same phrases work on Apple Watch.

Tip: the app name is part of the phrase. "Log water" alone may get you a different app or a web search; "log water in Water Tracker" goes straight to the right place.

Build a shortcut for your own bottle

The built-in phrases log one glass. If you usually drink from a 750 ml (25 fl oz) bottle, a custom shortcut is faster than logging three glasses.

Open the Shortcuts app and tap + to create a new shortcut.
Tap Add Action and search for "Water Tracker".
Choose Log Water.
Tap the Amount (ml) field and enter 750. Leave it empty to log one glass.
Rename the shortcut, for example "Bottle of water", and tap Done.

The amount is always entered in milliliters (for 25 fl oz, enter about 740). Your app still shows totals in your chosen unit.

Now you can run it in several ways. Apple's guide to running shortcuts with Siri notes that you can ask Siri to run any shortcut in your collection by saying its name: "Hey Siri, bottle of water". You can also add it to your Home Screen from the shortcut's share menu, so it sits next to your apps as an icon.

Make one shortcut for each container you use often: a 330 ml (11 fl oz) can of sparkling water, a 500 ml (17 fl oz) sports bottle, a large mug of tea.

Use the Action Button

On iPhone 15 Pro and later, the Action Button can run a shortcut. Apple's guide to running shortcuts with the Action Button gives the steps:

Go to Settings > Action Button.
Swipe to Shortcut.
Tap Choose a Shortcut and select Log Water from Water Tracker, or your own "Bottle of water" shortcut.

Now a press and hold of the Action Button logs a drink, even from your pocket. You can only assign one action, so this works best if water is something you log many times a day. If you already use the button for something else, a Home Screen widget is the next fastest option; see water widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen.

Automations: helpful, if you keep them honest

The Shortcuts app can also run actions automatically when something happens, such as a time of day, arriving at a place or an alarm being stopped. Apple's guide to personal automations shows how: open Shortcuts, tap Automation, create a new one, choose a trigger and add actions.

A word of caution: an automation that logs water on a schedule records drinks you may not have had. Your log stops meaning anything. Better ideas:

Ask, then log. At 15:00, run a shortcut with a Choose from Menu action: "Had a glass?" with "Yes" running Log Water and "Not yet" doing nothing. It is a reminder and a log in one.
Evening check-in. At 19:00, run Today's Water so Siri tells you where you stand while there is still time to catch up without drinking a lot right before bed.
Arrive at work or the gym. When you arrive, show a menu to log the bottle you just filled.

When you create an automation, you can choose whether it runs immediately or asks first. For anything that logs data, asking first is the safer choice.

If you mainly want nudges, Water Tracker's built-in reminders are simpler than building automations: they come every 1 to 4 hours between the times you choose, and stop once you reach your goal. We cover timing in water reminders that actually work.

Troubleshooting

Siri opens a different app or searches the web. Include "in Water Tracker" in the phrase, and open the app at least once after installing it.
The shortcut isn't listed in Shortcuts. Update iOS and the app, then open Water Tracker once so its actions are registered.
Drinks logged by Siri don't appear in Apple Health. Check that Save to Apple Health is on in the app's Settings. Drinks logged by Siri, widgets and the Action Button are saved there just like drinks logged in the app.

Bottom line

For most people, one phrase is enough: "Hey Siri, log water in Water Tracker". If you drink from the same bottle every day, build a shortcut with your exact amount and put it on the Action Button or your Home Screen. Use automations to ask and remind, not to log drinks you haven't had. Every route ends up in the same place, so your total stays right on your iPhone, Apple Watch and in Apple Health. New to tracking? Start with how to track your water intake on iPhone.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, ask your doctor how much you should drink.