How to export iMessages on a Mac

Exporter is a Mac app that writes every conversation as a Markdown file, photos included, kept in sync as messages arrive.

Download for Mac

A group chat, as a file.

A group's file name carries its conversation id, so a new member never renames the file. The Messages docs explain every line.

Cabin crew-57.md

---
title: "Cabin crew"
id: "57"
created: 2025-11-02T19:40:03
modified: 2026-03-08T21:12:55
source_url: "sms://+14155550123"
participants: ["[[contacts/Anna Kowalski]]", "Ben Ortiz", "Me"]
is_group: true
message_count: 1204
service: "iMessage"
---

# Cabin crew

## Sunday, November 2, 2025

**[Ben Ortiz]** [open](sms://ben@example.com) (2025-11-02 19:40:03)
Who has the key this year?
^msg-2B9F6C1D8E4A

What comes out

A heading per day

Then one block per message: who sent it, when, and a link that opens the conversation in Messages.

Replies as links

A reply links to the message it answers, inside the same file.

Edits with their history

The current text, and every earlier version as a footnote.

Reactions

On one line under the message they react to.

Photos

Copied beside the conversation. iPhone HEIC photos are converted to JPEG so Obsidian and other editors can show them.

People linked

With Contacts exported too, each participant links to their contact card, and each card lists its conversations.

How it works

1Connect Messages
A panel opens in ~/Library/Messages: press Select This Folder. Exporter reads only that folder, with no Full Disk Access.
2Pick conversations
People and Groups tabs, and a filter for what you have not read. Export all of them, or tick the ones you want.
3It syncs
Press Sync. The first pass over a long history takes minutes; after that only conversations with something new are written again.

How it works: Messages docsGuides: Back up Messages Messages in Claude iMessages to ChatGPT

Questions

Still have questions? Get in touch

Do my messages leave my Mac?

No. Exporter reads the Messages database and writes the files on your Mac. No account, no server.

What is free?

Your 50 most recent conversations export and keep syncing free. Unlocking Messages is its own one-time purchase in Exporter. After it, the next sync writes every conversation.

Why is a photo missing?

Media that was never downloaded to this Mac cannot be copied, so the file lists it by name instead of embedding it.

Can Claude read my conversations?

Yes. Exporter's local MCP server serves the exported conversations to Claude, and a search for a person's name finds your conversation with them. Connect it.

How do I export text messages from my iPhone?

Bring them to your Mac first: turn on Messages in iCloud on the iPhone and on the Mac, signed in with the same Apple Account, then connect Messages in Exporter. The steps.

Does it export SMS and RCS too?

Yes. Every conversation in Messages on your Mac is exported, and each message says whether it came as iMessage, SMS or RCS.

Can Exporter save a conversation as a PDF?

No, it writes Markdown. For one conversation as a PDF, open it in Messages and choose File › Print.

Is there a free way to export all my iMessages?

Exporter exports your 50 most recent conversations free, and keeps them in sync. The open source imessage-exporter writes all of them once, as HTML or text, from Terminal.

Against the alternatives

Messages has no export of its own. These are the ways people get their conversations out.

Feature	Exporter	iMazing (iPhone backup)	imessage-exporter (GitHub)	Screenshots and copy
Every conversation at once	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Format	Markdown with front matter	PDF, Excel or CSV	HTML or text	Images
Kept in sync as messages arrive	Yes	No	No	No
People linked to contact cards	Yes	No	No	No
Works without Terminal	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Price	50 conversations free, then a one-time purchase	Paid	Free	Free

Ask Claude about your conversations

Exporter's local MCP server serves your exported conversations. Set it up.

Connect Claude Code.

Then ask: “What did Anna and I agree about the trip?”

$ claude mcp add --transport http exporter http://localhost:8744/mcp

Export text messages from your iPhone

Exporter reads Messages on your Mac. Messages in iCloud keeps the same conversations on your iPhone and your Mac, so once they are on the Mac, Exporter writes them all (Apple’s guide).

On your iPhone, go to Settings › your name › iCloud, tap See All, then Messages in iCloud, and turn on “Use on this iPhone”.
On your Mac, open Messages, choose Messages › Settings, click iMessage, and select “Enable Messages in iCloud”. Use the same Apple Account as on the iPhone.
For texts from people without iMessage, turn on Text Message Forwarding for your Mac in your iPhone’s Messages settings (Apple’s guide).
Wait for your conversations to appear in Messages on the Mac, which can take a while the first time, then connect Messages in Exporter.

Contacts Every contact card as a Markdown file

Back up Messages Every conversation as a file, kept current

CLI Every command, flag and exit code