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

Option	Description
-f, --from <sender>	Filter by sender name or phone
-a, --after <date>	Only messages after date (YYYY-MM-DD)
-l, --limit <n>	Max results (default: 10)
-c, --context <n>	Messages before/after (default: 2)

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:

Command	Description
/messages:search <query>	Fuzzy search with optional filters
/messages:recent	Show most recent messages
/messages:contacts	List contacts by activity
/messages:conversations	List conversations with message counts
/messages:from "Name"	Messages from a specific person
/messages:thread "Name"	Full conversation thread
/messages:browse <cmd>	Alias for browse commands

MCP Server

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

Tool	Description
search_messages	Search messages with fuzzy matching
recent_messages	Get most recent messages
list_contacts	List contacts by activity
list_conversations	List conversations with counts
get_thread	Get conversation thread with a contact
get_message_stats	Get index statistics

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

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

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

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

License

MIT