Although there are dozens of alternatives, Adobe Photoshop remains the de facto choice for designers, creatives, and professionals. If you often edit dozens of photos at once, you may sometimes come across repetitive tasks. Instead of going through the same tedious steps, you can automate your work in a snap using scripts.
Whether you're a photographer or a digital artist, scripts open up a world of possibilities, allowing you to automate everything from simple edits to complex workflows. In this guide, we'll show you how to automate Adobe Photoshop with scripts, saving you a lot of time and effort on repetitive tasks.

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What is Photoshop scripting?
Photoshop scripts are a must-have for professionals with an extensive workflow. They allow you to automate tasks and workflows in Photoshop. By running a script, you are basically giving Photoshop instructions in a specific language – JavaScript. You can use software solutions like Visual Code Studio or Sublime Text to write JSX files and perform a variety of tasks in Photoshop, from image adjustments to batch processing.
JavaScript is a versatile programming language that is often used for web development. However, you don't have to be a JavaScript expert to use Photoshop scripts. With even basic JavaScript knowledge, you can write simple scripts or modify existing ones. Plus, you can always explore (and even purchase) ready-made scripts from the Adobe community.
What can Photoshop scripts do?
Don't rule out Photoshop scripts as a basic automation tool. Their capabilities are vast and varied. Here's a quick overview of the types of tasks you can automate with scripts in Photoshop.
- Image editing: You can resize, crop, rotate, apply filters, and automate other adjustments you make frequently.
- Batch processing: Allows you to perform the same actions on multiple media files, saving countless hours of work.
- Layer management: Scripts can help you create, rename, and organize layers precisely.
- Text manipulation: You can add, format and edit text to your images.
- Special effects: Allows you to apply complex visual effects, custom patterns, and even create compositions from scratch.
Find and use ready-made scripts
As mentioned earlier, you don't need to be a JavaScript expert to use scripts in Photoshop. There are many free and paid scripts available. For starters, you can visit Adobe Exchange to find a variety of scripts for Photoshop.
There are also websites and forums that offer user-created Photoshop scripts. GitHub is another popular source of free scripts to automate your creative setup.
If you download a script from unofficial sources, be sure to check its creation or update date. Some developers may not update or maintain their scripts for a long period of time, and this may cause compatibility issues with Photoshop's ever-changing script and plug-in architecture. Some scripts need to be modified to work properly with the newer version of Adobe Photoshop.

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Writing and running your scripts
If you have basic JavaScript knowledge, you can write a custom Photoshop script based on your needs and workflow. In the example below, we will write a Photoshop script that resizes an image to 1200 pixels wide and saves it as a JPEG with 90% quality.
We will use Microsoft Visual Studio Code to write and save this script, but you can use any other editor to get the job done.
- Open Visual Studio Code on the desktop. Press Ctrl + N to create a new file.
- Write down the following code.
Just press Ctrl + Shift + S Buttons to open the dialog box and save it as C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2024 (your version)\Presets\Scripts Folder.
Running scripts in Photoshop
Now that you have saved a script, you can run it in Photoshop. Follow these steps.
- start Photoshop and open your files.
- Choose file expand above scripts, and select Browse.
- Select your script and click Load.
- That's all. Photoshop automatically makes changes based on certain instructions in the .jsx
Scripts Event Manager
If you don't want to run your scripts manually, use the Scripts Events Manager to automate your scripts based on Photoshop events.
- Start Photoshop on the desktop and select file above.
- Expand Scripts and select Scripts Event Manager.
- Click on the Check mark next to Enable events to execute scripts/actions and expand the Photoshop Event Menu. You can take a look at the events included.
- Start application: Runs a script when you start Photoshop.
- New document: Triggers a script when you open a new document.
- Save document: Runs a script when you save a document.
- Print document: Runs a script when printing a document to make some last-minute changes.
Choose script and expand the menu. Find the script you want to run on a specific event. Click Add and you can get started.
You can create multiple events to automate your entire workflow in Photoshop like a pro. We recommend testing your script-event combination to make sure it works as expected.

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Photoshop Scripts: Important Tips
Here are some tips to keep in mind when running scripts in Photoshop.
- If you are a beginner, start experimenting with simple scripts and gradually build your skills.
- Always back up your original images before running scripts.
- Most scripts assume that you already have an image open in Photoshop. If you want to automate the opening of images, you will need to adjust the script code.
Photoshop on autopilot
A script is basically a personal Photoshop assistant that takes over the repetitive tasks that eat up your precious time. It can transform your Photoshop workflow and revolutionize your editing methods. What are you waiting for? If you have programming skills, you can write custom scripts for your workflow, or you might just want to try some ready-made scripts to save time.
Besides scripts, you should also try Photoshop plugins to enhance your creative setup. Check out our separate guide for the best plugins for Adobe Photoshop.