Auto Pack

How does Auto Pack decide what to suggest?

Every item in your library is scored against the trip. Items marked essential score highly on every trip. Items tagged for a climate or an activity score higher when the trip matches, and lower when it actively conflicts — a ski jacket is pushed down for a beach week. Items with no tags at all are treated as universal, because an item you added without qualifying it is one you probably want every time.

Anything scoring above the threshold is pre-selected. You can tick or untick whatever you like before adding.

Why does it suggest eight pairs of socks but only one pair of pyjamas?

Quantities come from the item's category and the length of the trip. Underwear and socks are assumed to be changed daily, so they scale with the number of nights. Tops and bottoms scale more slowly. Sleepwear, robes and slippers are worn again and again, so they stay at one however long the trip.

Tap the ×1 badge on any row to change it.

It keeps suggesting something I never bring

Untick it, or swipe it off the list. Auto Pack records that, and the same item ranks lower on your next trip. Turn it down consistently and it stops being pre-selected — it stays in your library, it just stops nagging.

What are the bags for?

Each item can be assigned to carry-on, checked, a backpack or a personal item. Long-press a row to assign it. Switch the list from grouping by category to grouping by bag from the ••• menu, and you get a per-bag view of what still needs to go in.

Bags are entirely optional. Ignore them and the list behaves exactly as it did before.

Where does the forecast come from?

Apple Weather. Auto Pack sends the coordinates of your destination and the dates of the trip, and shows the daily highs, lows and chance of rain. If the forecast disagrees with the climate tags on the trip, it offers to update them — so a wet week gets a raincoat onto the list.

My trip shows no forecast

Two likely reasons. Apple forecasts about ten days ahead, so a trip further out than that has nothing to show yet — check again closer to departure. Otherwise the trip has no resolved destination: open it, tap the destination field and pick a place, so Auto Pack has coordinates to look up.

The forecast also needs a network connection. Everything else in the app works offline.

Does Auto Pack know where I am?

No. It never asks for your location and has no location permission. The only place it looks up is the destination you type in yourself.

How do I fill my library quickly?

Onboarding offers starter packs — everyday essentials plus optional sets for beach, hiking, skiing, business, camping and training. Pick the ones that match how you travel and the library is ready immediately. You can add them later from My Items ▸ + ▸ Add Starter Items; anything you already have is skipped.

How does automatic categorisation work?

Common travel items are recognised instantly from a built-in database of several hundred entries, in every language the app supports. Anything it does not recognise is classified on-device by Apple Intelligence, where the device supports it.

On devices without Apple Intelligence the built-in database still works and anything unrecognised lands in Misc, which you can change yourself. Nothing is sent anywhere for categorisation either way.

Importing from Reminders

Go to My Items ▸ + ▸ Import List and choose a Reminders list. Auto Pack reads the titles, strips list markers like - and 1., and categorises each one. Access is read-only and the app never writes to your reminders.

The widget says “No trip to pack for”

The widget follows the trip you have marked active, or the soonest upcoming trip that has a packing list. A trip with no items yet is skipped, because there is no progress to show. Generate its list and the widget picks it up.

I did not get a reminder before my trip

Reminders fire three days and one day before departure, at 6pm, and only when something is still unpacked. Check that notifications are allowed for Auto Pack in Settings, and that the trip's start date is in the future. Opening the app rebuilds the schedule.

Siri and Shortcuts

Ask Siri to add something to your packing list, or what is left to pack, and it applies to the trip you are currently packing for. Both also appear as actions in the Shortcuts app.

My items are missing on another device

Auto Pack syncs through your private iCloud database. Both devices need to be signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud Drive on, and iCloud enabled for Auto Pack in Settings. Sync is not instant — open the app on both devices and give it a moment.

I got a new phone

Sign in to the same Apple Account, install Auto Pack, and your library and trips come back on their own. There is no account to create and nothing to restore by hand.

Deleting things

Swipe left on any trip, item or list row. Deleting an item from your library removes it from every trip it appears on; deleting it from a single trip leaves the library untouched.