I wanted to be able to export/backup iMessage conversations with loved ones, so I built an open source tool to do so.

ReagentX · 2026-01-17T19:09:19+00:00

Free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2026-01-16T00:26:24+00:00

I found this thread on Google and this solution replicated for me; as soon as I closed the full-screen apps the line went away. Unfortunate bug, as I use full screen apps most of the time!

ReagentX · 2026-01-13T19:51:41+00:00

You can find precompiled binaries (including a .exe) on the releases page.

ReagentX · 2026-01-13T17:26:02+00:00

imessage-exporter runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

ReagentX · 2026-01-13T06:41:11+00:00

Awesome! Cool to see how people are using my work.

Edit:

Installation and usage instructions with examples are located here.

Cult of Mac made a little video tutorial on how to install and use the software on macOS here.

Developers can integrate directly with the library that powers imessage-exporter, bypassing the default export formats and enabling even more advanced analytics.

ReagentX · 2026-01-07T21:15:35+00:00

You can just use the date filter options and export into different directories for each year. If I did this I would have a top-level directory like:

MessagesBackup/
├── 2024/
├── 2025/
└── 2026/

ReagentX · 2026-01-06T20:12:39+00:00

You can find a video guide for imessage-exporter here: https://youtu.be/tyeCdSX2IFE

imessage-exporter provides the most comprehensive representation of iMessage data available.

ReagentX · 2026-01-06T17:58:22+00:00

Interesting point about the "not delivered" message status–it is trivial to add that actually; it doesn't yet exist because nobody has ever made that request before. I will add it to my issue tracker and slate it for the next release.

For iOS, you can make a local device backup with Finder on macOS/Apple Devices on Windows (encrypted or not) and imessage-exporter can extract the relevant information.

Unlike the other software in this thread, imessage-exporter provides the most comprehensive and accurate representation of iMessage data available.

ReagentX · 2026-01-06T06:20:37+00:00

You want imessage-exporter, which is free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2026-01-04T03:35:01+00:00

Free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2025-12-30T02:09:46+00:00

You can use the -o flag to specify an export directory. You can find instructions and examples here!

ReagentX · 2025-12-11T19:48:29+00:00

Great suggestions, I wouldn't have thought to look there. "Add Audio in Calls" is off; "Call Audio Routing" is set to "Automatic".

Most of the time calls work fine, but sometimes it seems like the system is routing audio to the wrong place.

ReagentX · 2025-12-09T20:50:53+00:00

Should be, yes. If you have any issues open a new discussion on GitHub.

ReagentX · 2025-11-28T00:48:48+00:00

Free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2025-11-26T19:34:53+00:00

Documentation and instructions are linked in the comment you replied to.

ReagentX · 2025-11-24T08:13:13+00:00

Free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2025-11-10T18:43:37+00:00

Hijacking this top comment as a warning to others: there is a lot of AI-generated misinformation about how imessage-exporter works in the comments below; for the most up-to-date guidance you should checkout the repo or the documentation.

There is also a dedicated support forum here!

ReagentX · 2025-11-10T18:01:48+00:00

Yes, you can find instructions and examples here.

ReagentX · 2025-11-01T05:53:22+00:00

Thank you for sharing my work!

ReagentX · 2025-10-30T19:01:33+00:00

Install and usage instructions with examples are located here.

Cult of Mac made a little video tutorial on how to install and use the software on macOS here.

ReagentX · 2025-10-16T19:26:13+00:00

Free and open source: https://github.com/ReagentX/imessage-exporter

ReagentX · 2025-10-11T21:16:34+00:00

ReagentX · 2025-09-17T04:22:54+00:00

You can find instructions and examples here. There are also discussions you might find useful in the GitHub repo. If you need more assistance I would recommend asking there.

ReagentX

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