Mac Messages MCP server

Mac Messages MCP is a Python bridge for interacting with the macOS Messages app using MCP (Multiple Context Protocol). It enables seamless communication across both iMessage and SMS/RCS platforms, automatically selecting the optimal delivery method based on recipient availability.

Installation Requirements

Prerequisites

• macOS (tested on macOS 11+)
• Python 3.10+
• uv package manager

Installing uv

If you're on Mac, install uv using Homebrew:

brew install uv

Otherwise, follow the installation instructions on the uv website.

⚠️ Do not proceed before installing uv

Full Disk Access Permission

⚠️ This application requires Full Disk Access permission for your terminal or application to access the Messages database.

To grant Full Disk Access:

1. Open System Preferences/Settings > Security & Privacy/Privacy > Full Disk Access
2. Click the lock icon to make changes
3. Add your terminal app (Terminal, iTerm2, etc.) or Claude Desktop/Cursor to the list
4. Restart your terminal or application after granting permission

Installation Options

From PyPI

uv pip install mac-messages-mcp

From source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/carterlasalle/mac_messages_mcp.git
cd mac_messages_mcp

# Install dependencies
uv install -e .

Integration Options

Claude Desktop Integration

1. Go to Claude > Settings > Developer > Edit Config > claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add the following configuration:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "messages": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mac-messages-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Cursor Integration

Go to Cursor Settings > MCP and paste this as a command:

uvx mac-messages-mcp

⚠️ Only run one instance of the MCP server (either on Cursor or Claude Desktop), not both

Docker Container Integration

If you need to connect to mac-messages-mcp from a Docker container, use the mcp-proxy package:

1. Install mcp-proxy on your macOS host:

npm install -g mcp-proxy

2. Start the proxy server:

npx mcp-proxy uvx mac-messages-mcp --port 8000 --host 0.0.0.0

3. Connect from Docker:

   • URL: http://host.docker.internal:8000/mcp (on macOS/Windows)
   • URL: http://<host-ip>:8000/mcp (on Linux)

4. Docker Compose example:

version: '3.8'
services:
  your-app:
    image: your-image
    environment:
      MCP_MESSAGES_URL: "http://host.docker.internal:8000/mcp"
    extra_hosts:
      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"  # For Linux hosts

Usage

Smart Message Delivery

Mac Messages MCP automatically handles message delivery across different platforms:

• iMessage Users (iPhone, iPad, Mac): Messages sent via iMessage
• Android Users: Messages automatically fall back to SMS/RCS
• Mixed Groups: Optimal delivery method chosen per recipient

As a Module

from mac_messages_mcp import get_recent_messages, send_message

# Get recent messages
messages = get_recent_messages(hours=48)
print(messages)

# Send a message (automatically chooses iMessage or SMS)
result = send_message(recipient="+1234567890", message="Hello from Mac Messages MCP!")
print(result)  # Shows whether sent via iMessage or SMS

As a Command-Line Tool

# Run the MCP server directly
mac-messages-mcp

Features

• Universal Message Sending: Automatically sends via iMessage or SMS/RCS based on recipient availability
• Smart Fallback: Seamless fallback to SMS when iMessage is unavailable
• Message Reading: Read recent messages from the macOS Messages app
• Contact Filtering: Filter messages by specific contacts or phone numbers
• Fuzzy Search: Search through message content with intelligent matching
• iMessage Detection: Check if recipients have iMessage before sending

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "messages" '{"command":"uvx","args":["mac-messages-mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "messages": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mac-messages-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "messages": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mac-messages-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect