Messages

messages

Fuzzy search and browse Apple Messages (iMessage/SMS) from the command line, as a Claude Code plugin, or as an MCP server.

Features

• Fuzzy search with typo tolerance across all your messages
• Browse recent messages, contacts, and conversations
• Contact resolution - shows names instead of phone numbers
• Context display - see messages before/after each match
• Filter by sender or date range
• Auto-indexing - index automatically rebuilds when new messages are detected
• Multiple interfaces - CLI, MCP server, or Claude Code plugin

Requirements

• macOS (reads from Apple Messages database)
• Node.js 22+
• Full Disk Access permission for your terminal (to read ~/Library/Messages/chat.db)

Installation

Homebrew

brew install cardmagic/tap/messages

npm

npm install -g @cardmagic/messages

Claude Code Plugin (recommended)

Install as a plugin to get skills (auto-invoked) and slash commands:

# Add the marketplace

claude plugin marketplace add cardmagic/ai-marketplace

Install the plugin

claude plugin install messages@cardmagic

This gives you:

• Skill: Claude automatically searches messages when you ask about texts/iMessages
• Slash commands: /messages:search, /messages:recent, /messages:from, and more

MCP Server

For direct MCP tool access without the plugin:

claude mcp add --transport stdio messages -- npx -y @cardmagic/messages --mcp

Or install globally first:

npm install -g @cardmagic/messages

claude mcp add --transport stdio messages -- messages --mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/cardmagic/messages.git

cd messages make install

Then add as plugin OR MCP server:

claude plugin marketplace add cardmagic/ai-marketplace claude plugin install messages@cardmagic

OR

claude mcp add --transport stdio messages -- messages --mcp

Granting Full Disk Access

The tool needs to read your Messages database at ~/Library/Messages/chat.db:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access
2. Click + and add your terminal app (Terminal.app, iTerm, Warp, etc.)
3. Restart your terminal

Usage

CLI

Browse Commands

# Show most recent messages (who texted me?)

messages recent

List contacts by recent activity

messages contacts --limit 10

List conversations with message counts

messages conversations

Show recent messages from someone

messages from "Mom"

Show full conversation thread

messages thread "John" --after 2024-12-01

Search Commands

# Search for messages (index auto-builds on first search)

messages search "coffee tomorrow"

Filter by sender

messages search "dinner" --from "Mom"

Filter by date

messages search "meeting" --after 2024-01-01

Adjust result count and context

messages search "project" --limit 20 --context 5

Show index statistics

messages stats

Force rebuild the index

messages index

Search Options

Claude Code Plugin

When installed as a plugin, you get:

Skill (auto-invoked): Claude automatically searches messages when you ask things like:

• "What did Mom say about dinner?"
• "Who texted me recently?"
• "Find messages about the trip"

Slash Commands:

MCP Server

When installed as an MCP server, Claude Code can use these tools:

Manual MCP Configuration

For Claude Desktop or VS Code, add to your MCP configuration:

{

"mcpServers": { "messages": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@cardmagic/messages", "--mcp"] } } }

How It Works

1. Auto-Indexing: On first search (or when new messages are detected), the tool automatically:

• Reads your Apple Messages SQLite database
• Builds a SQLite FTS5 full-text search index
• Creates a MiniSearch fuzzy search index
• Resolves contact names from your Address Book

1. Searching: Queries both indexes for best results with typo tolerance

1. Storage: Index files are stored in ~/.messages/:

• index.db - SQLite FTS5 database
• fuzzy.json - MiniSearch index
• stats.json - Index statistics

License

MIT