imessage-cli (moritzhwnr)

Overview

imessage-cli by moritzhwnr is an MIT-licensed monorepo (github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli) with three PyPI packages: imessage-mcp, a read-only MCP server for the Messages database on a Mac; imessage-mcp-send, which adds a send tool; and imessage-bridge, a CLI that registers the server with a broker for a stable URL and API keys. All code was pushed on 15 May 2026 and nothing has changed since. On 25 October 2026 the default broker at imessage-cli.vercel.app returned "deployment not found", so the broker flow needs a self-hosted Next.js and Supabase backend.

Key features

• Tools: list_chats, read_messages and search_messages (substring search); reads only the text column of chat.db, not attributedBody
• MCP over HTTP on 127.0.0.1:8765, or through a Cloudflare Quick Tunnel with a bearer token
• send_message sends an iMessage through Messages.app to a phone number, email or one-to-one chat; group chats are refused and SMS is not offered

Pricing

Free software. It needs a Mac signed in to Messages, Python 3.13 or later, uv and Full Disk Access; public access needs cloudflared.

How it compares to Linq

Linq is a managed API with its own numbers, webhooks, SDKs and iMessage features such as tapbacks and typing indicators, free for 20 contacts and $260 a month for Pro. imessage-cli is free and uses your own Apple ID, but it has no webhooks or REST API and sends iMessage text to one person at a time.

Best for

Individuals who want a small, mostly read-only MCP server for their own Messages history.

Sources

• github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli
• github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli/blob/master/packages/imessage-mcp/README.md
• github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli/blob/master/packages/imessage-mcp-send/README.md
• github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli/blob/master/packages/imessage-mcp-send/src/imessage_mcp_send/tools.py
• github.com/moritzhwnr/imessage-cli/blob/master/packages/imessage-bridge/README.md
• pypi.org/project/imessage-mcp
• pypi.org/project/imessage-mcp-send
• pypi.org/project/imessage-bridge
• imessage-cli.vercel.app