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