imsg

imsg Actions

Overview

Use imsg to read and send Messages.app iMessage/SMS on macOS.

Requirements: Messages.app signed in, Full Disk Access for your terminal, and Automation permission to control Messages.app for sending.

Inputs to collect

• Recipient handle (phone/email) for send
• chatId for history/watch (from imsg chats --limit 10 --json)
• text and optional file path for sends

Actions

List chats

imsg chats --limit 10 --json

Fetch chat history

imsg history --chat-id 1 --limit 20 --attachments --json

Watch a chat

imsg watch --chat-id 1 --attachments

Send a message

imsg send --to "+14155551212" --text "hi" --file /path/pic.jpg

Notes

• --service imessage|sms|auto controls delivery.
• Confirm recipient + message before sending.

Ideas to try

• Use imsg chats --limit 10 --json to discover chat ids.
• Watch a high-signal chat to stream incoming messages.