Show HN: I made a command-line iMessage interface

https://github.com/CamHenlin/imessageclient

by camhenlin • 11 years ago

130 56 11 years ago

adieth• 11 years ago

If it could be ingrated with [WeeChat] [1], it could be a way to provide iMessage support as a [web browser chat client] [2] and to [Android devices] [3].

[1] https://weechat.org/ [2]: https://github.com/glowing-bear/glowing-bear [3]: https://github.com/ubergeek42/weechat-android

LukeB_UK• 11 years ago

From reading the readme, it seems it only works on a Mac and you have to have messages.app running and logged in.

dewey2• 11 years ago

It's "just" using AppleScript for some GUI scripting, it's still using the Messages.app. Still a pretty cool project.

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Hi, op here, I also made this last summer for purposes of imessaging on a windows phone: https://github.com/CamHenlin/imessageservice

unfortunately integration with other services is pretty difficult because everything requires routing messages through the OS X messages client

blogle• 11 years ago

This is amazing, I have been wanting something like this for some time now. Hopefully the protocol can be demystified such that this is less clumsy.

gargarplex• 11 years ago

This has the potential to be some day disruptive to Twilio, Plivo, etc.

striking• 11 years ago

Please note that this isn't actually using the iMessage protocol, this just uses AppleScript to fire messages via Messages.app. However, it's nice to finally be able to iMessage over SSH. :)

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

That's correct. In the future, if time permits, I would like to figure out how to use private APIs within OS X or the Messages.app libraries to send messages without the AppleScript files. Unfortunately that's non-trivial and takes some serious poking around. Right now it's a useful solution for me over ssh so I wanted to share it with the community since I thought others might find that ability useful as well

zer0defex• 11 years ago

Agreed! I'm definitely going to lift some of this code for some Alfred workflows too.

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Please post it, I'd love to see what you come up with!

rian• 11 years ago

Bitlbee!!

alexose• 11 years ago

Cool project! Though, the OSX requirement makes its utility pretty limited.

Could someone host iMessage as a service without being sued into oblivion?

dewey2• 11 years ago

The protocol isn't open source. It's a cli layer over the messages app so at this point there's no way to "host" it somewhere.

voxic11• 11 years ago

you could host it by using a ton of macs :P

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Hi, op here, I'm actually working on a hosted solution right now making use of a set of physical Macs and fast user switching. Hoping to have something to show for it in the next several weeks!

abritishguy• 11 years ago

I don't see Apple being happy with that

ianlevesque2• 11 years ago

I think this is one of those projects we all think about doing, then realize an Apple ID is way too critical to a Mac / iPhone user's security (remote wipe anyone?) to let a third party authenticate with it.

It would be really handy as something I could run on my own mac.

jstoiko• 11 years ago

Would be nice if users could give you(r service) access to only the imessage key in their icloud keychain.

LargeCompanies• 11 years ago

ANyone know of way or an app to search your iMessage threads?

xuki• 11 years ago

https://flexibits.com/chatology

This looks solid

spdustin• 11 years ago

Spotlight. Alfred. Connect directly to chat.db.

Any of those sound good? :)

dacort• 11 years ago

Different use case (SMS stats), but you can see an example of querying the local iMessage DB here: https://github.com/mroth/grayratio

justinmk• 11 years ago

Anyone know of a CLI client for Microsoft lync?

Macuyiko• 11 years ago

Yup. Pidgin + SIPE http://sourceforge.net/projects/sipe/ + Finch http://linuxers.org/article/finch-command-line-alternative-p...

jmduke• 11 years ago

## Why did you make this?

Why not?

Regardless of the actual repository (though don't get me wrong, this is still super cool and I like seeing AppleScript in action since I feel like it's criminally underused), this kind of thing in a Readme always brings a grin to my face. Tinkering for tinkering's sake is the best.

extempore• 11 years ago

"Criminal" is definitely the word to use when it comes to applescript, though maybe not in quite that way.

pwenzel• 11 years ago

"Why not?" is fine, but my question is:

What are you going to use it for?

ZoF• 11 years ago

I'd say using iMessage over ssh. What makes your question more valid than 'why make this'?

justinmayer• 11 years ago

For those of you who, like me, might want to use this on older hardware, I got an error on launch on Mac OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion: https://github.com/CamHenlin/imessageclient/issues/2

Just thought I'd mention it here in case others are thinking of trying this out on Mountain Lion.

Edit: CamHenlin has already committed a fix for this problem. Nice work!

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Thanks, hoping that I can help you out!

lindbergh• 11 years ago

Really cool. Now I must figure a way to add this as an emacs mode. Good job!

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

How about a Sublime plugin :)

djabatt• 11 years ago

Yeah why not?

vhost-• 11 years ago

macmini-server-in-a-closet = iMessage on linux over ssh.

I should label it "iMessage server".

akrymski2• 11 years ago

Awesome! Is there a way to create a new conversation?

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Not yet, I plan on adding it this evening!

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I added new conversation functionality!

akrymski2• 11 years ago

Great thanks!

asdf0• 11 years ago

ive played with this similar before capturing incoming. as well you can write events for messsages in javascript just now with yosemite the same as you would applescript. you can use osacompile and osascript command tools to run and compile javascript/applescript. the same things applescript can do. i find easier to write. doesnt have to be complicated to run for personal use inside ssh.

rjuyal• 11 years ago

Did you tried capturing incoming messages? If yes, please redirect me how to do so.

BillinghamJ• 11 years ago

Have you looked into using MessagesKit.framework? (In /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks)

If it's written in Obj-C, you can extract fully usable headers from it. If C++/C/etc., it will be difficult (but not impossible) to understand it.

After extracting the headers from that, you may well be able to use it instead of AppleScript.

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Thanks for the pointer, exactly the type of response I was hoping to elicit

omaranto• 11 years ago

I know I'll sound like I am an old man yelling "Get off my lawn!", but as far as I can tell this is a text-mode application but it is not a commandline interface. Note that it's only the HN submission title that gets it wrong, the Readme.md on GitHub correctly calls it "terminal-based" rather than CLI.

An actual commandline interface would also be cool, to be able to easily send iMessages from shell scripts, for example.

camhenlin14• 11 years ago

Sure, you're right, I just got excited typing out the title :) You could actually use the AppleScript files in the repo to send messages directly without the use of the rest of the code. Usage would be like this:

osascript sendmessage_single.AppleScript PHONE_NUMBER_OR_ICLOUD_EMAIL "my message text" false false

Show HN: I made a command-line iMessage interface

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