# openclaw/imsg

CLI for Apple's Messages.app so your agent can send and receive text messages/iMessages.

Repository: https://github.com/openclaw/imsg
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/imsg
Homepage: https://imsg.sh
Language: Swift
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: cli, imessage
Last push: 2026-08-25T19:04:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 82/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 97, longevity 19
- inputs: {"age_days": 271, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 22, "gap_med": 2, "n_releases_24m": 30}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1294, forks 176 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:16.244648+00:00)

## What it is
A Swift CLI for macOS that reads, watches, and sends iMessage and SMS via Apple's Messages.app. It reads the local chat.db database directly, streams new messages as NDJSON, sends through Messages.app automation, and exposes a JSON-RPC interface for scripts and AI agents.

## Use cases
- let an AI agent send and receive iMessages
- read iMessage history from the terminal
- stream new text messages live in a script
- send SMS or iMessage from the command line
- export Messages chat history as JSON
- monitor incoming messages with tapbacks
- search local Messages database without launching Messages.app

## When to choose
- you need programmatic access to iMessage/SMS on macOS for scripts or agents
- you want machine-readable NDJSON/JSON-RPC output for piping into other tools
- you prefer a local-first tool with no daemon or network round-trip

## When to avoid
- you need to send messages from Linux (read-only database inspection only)
- you need cross-platform messaging beyond Apple's Messages ecosystem
- you cannot grant Full Disk Access or Automation permissions on macOS

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation, chatbot, mcp
- domain: messaging-platforms, developer-tools, apple-ecosystem
- platform: cli
- tags: imessage, messages-app, sms, nd, -rpc, ai-agents, chat-database, apple, command-line, automation, macos, linux, swift

## Member repositories
- openclaw/imsg (main) score 82

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:16.244648+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:54:06.020841+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/openclaw/imsg (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:16.244648+00:00, sha 5150b1a4fc00)
  - homepage: https://imsg.sh (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:53.610358+00:00, sha 17544153f5e4)
  - site_page: https://imsg.sh/install.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:53.619479+00:00, sha 397c3d524b54)
  - site_page: https://imsg.sh/quickstart.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:53.621185+00:00, sha f9fcd469cbd3)
  - site_page: https://imsg.sh/advanced-imcore.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:53.622769+00:00, sha d1829d7c57b0)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.