💬 imsg — Send, read, stream iMessage & SMS

A macOS Messages.app CLI to send, read, and stream iMessage/SMS (with attachment metadata). Read-only for receives; send uses AppleScript (no private APIs).

Features

• List chats, view history, or stream new messages (watch).
• Send text and attachments via iMessage or SMS (AppleScript, no private APIs).
• Phone normalization to E.164 for reliable buddy lookup (--region, default US).
• Optional attachment metadata output (mime, name, path, missing flag).
• Filters: participants, start/end time, JSON output for tooling.
• Read-only DB access (mode=ro), no DB writes.
• Event-driven watch via filesystem events.
• Optional advanced IMCore features (typing, launch, status) behind explicit SIP-off setup.

Requirements

• macOS 14+ with Messages.app signed in.
• Full Disk Access for your terminal to read ~/Library/Messages/chat.db.
• Automation permission for your terminal to control Messages.app (for sending).
• For SMS relay, enable “Text Message Forwarding” on your iPhone to this Mac.

Install

make build
# binary at ./bin/imsg

Commands

• imsg chats [--limit 20] [--json] — list recent conversations.
• imsg history --chat-id <id> [--limit 50] [--attachments] [--participants +15551234567,...] [--start 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z] [--end 2025-02-01T00:00:00Z] [--json]
• imsg watch [--chat-id <id>] [--since-rowid <n>] [--debounce 250ms] [--attachments] [--participants …] [--start …] [--end …] [--json]
• imsg send --to <handle> [--text "hi"] [--file /path/img.jpg] [--service imessage|sms|auto] [--region US]
• imsg read --to <handle> [--chat-id <id> | --chat-identifier <id> | --chat-guid <guid>]
• imsg typing --to <handle> [--duration 5s] [--stop true] [--service imessage|sms|auto]
• imsg status [--json] — advanced feature and SIP status
• imsg launch [--dylib <path>] [--kill-only] [--json]

Quick samples

# list 5 chats
imsg chats --limit 5

# list chats as JSON
imsg chats --limit 5 --json

# last 10 messages in chat 1 with attachments
imsg history --chat-id 1 --limit 10 --attachments

# filter by date and emit JSON
imsg history --chat-id 1 --start 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z --json

# live stream a chat
imsg watch --chat-id 1 --attachments --debounce 250ms

# send a picture
imsg send --to "+14155551212" --text "hi" --file ~/Desktop/pic.jpg --service imessage

# mark a chat as read
imsg read --to "+14155551212"

# advanced status check
imsg status

# launch Messages with injection (SIP must be disabled first)
imsg launch

# show typing indicator for 5s
imsg typing --to "+14155551212" --duration 5s

Attachment notes

--attachments prints per-attachment lines with name, MIME, missing flag, and resolved path (tilde expanded). Only metadata is shown; files aren’t copied.

JSON output

imsg chats --json emits one JSON object per chat with fields: id, name, identifier, service, last_message_at. imsg history --json and imsg watch --json emit one JSON object per message with fields: id, chat_id, guid, reply_to_guid, destination_caller_id, sender, is_from_me, text, created_at, attachments (array of metadata with filename, transfer_name, uti, mime_type, total_bytes, is_sticker, original_path, missing), reactions.

Note: reply_to_guid, destination_caller_id, and reactions are read-only metadata.

Permissions troubleshooting

If you see “unable to open database file” or empty output:

1. Grant Full Disk Access: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access → add your terminal.
2. Ensure Messages.app is signed in and ~/Library/Messages/chat.db exists.
3. For send, allow the terminal under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation → Messages.

Advanced Features (SIP-Off Only)

Advanced features (typing, launch, IMCore bridge) require injecting a helper dylib into Messages.app.

Important:

• This is opt-in only. Default send/history/watch flows do not need injection.
• imsg launch refuses to inject when SIP is enabled.
• imsg status is read-only and does not auto-launch or auto-inject.

Setup:

1. Disable SIP from Recovery mode: csrutil disable
2. Grant Full Disk Access to your terminal
3. Build helper dylib: make build-dylib
4. Launch with injection: imsg launch
5. Verify: imsg status

To revert after testing, re-enable SIP in Recovery mode: csrutil enable.

Testing

make test

Note: make test applies a small patch to SQLite.swift to silence a SwiftPM warning about PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy.

Linting & formatting

make lint
make format

Core library

The reusable Swift core lives in Sources/IMsgCore and is consumed by the CLI target. Apps can depend on the IMsgCore library target directly.