iMessage export assistant · macOS

Export an iMessage conversation in a minute.

Messages has no export. This assistant reads your conversations on your Mac, lets you pick one and saves it as a .txt on your Desktop. Nothing is sent over the internet.

⬇ Download for macOSZIP · 4 KB · macOS 11 or later
← Back to upload

Download the assistant, then double-click “Exporter iMessage”.

How it works

  1. 01

    Download the assistant, then double-click “Exporter iMessage”.

  2. 02

    If macOS blocks it: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

  3. 03

    Turn on “Terminal” in Full Disk Access (read-only access to your messages).

  4. 04

    Choose the conversation to analyze, then Export.

  5. 05

    The .txt file is on your Desktop: come back to OttoKnows and upload it.

  6. 06

    It's imported: Otto starts reading.

Prefer Terminal?

Paste this command into Terminal: it runs the same assistant, with no download to approve.

curl -fsSL /downloads/exporter-imessage.sh | bash

What you need

  • A Mac with Messages in iCloud turned on (Messages → Settings → iMessage).
  • Full Disk Access for Terminal during the export. You can remove it right after.

Your privacy

  • The assistant reads a copy of the Messages database, read-only. It changes and deletes nothing.
  • It does not connect to the internet: the file stays on your Mac until you upload it.
  • The code is readable: open the file with TextEdit to check it.