iOS Message Logger
iOS message backup parser and text log formatter.
Usage
Run node parse.js <own_phone_number>
after completing the prerequisites and
installing the dependencies as instructed below. Insert your own phone number
for <own_phone_number>
using the format specified below.
<own_phone_number>
must be in the format +###########
which expands to
+# (###) ###-####
, meaning it must have a country code and area code. Do not
include any parenthesis, spaces, or dashes, but do include the plus symbol at
the beginning.
Prerequisites
You must insert two files into the db
folder: messages.db
and
contacts.vcf
.
The first file is obtained from a local iOS backup. Browse to
~/Library/ApplicationSupport/MobileSync/Backup/
and find the most recent
folder. Inside that folder, find the file
3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28
and copy it to the db
folder, renaming it as messages.db
.
The second file is obtained by exporting your contacts from the macOS Contacts
app. Select all of your contacts by pressing CTRL+A, and navigate to File ->
Export -> Export vCard... in the top menu bar. Save this file to the db
folder as contacts.vcf
.
Dependencies
Run npm install
in the root directory to install the appropriate
dependencies.
Overview
Takes a message database from a local iOS backup and a contacts database from the macOS Contacts app to create text logs for each individual and group conversation. Phone numbers are replaced with contact names when possible, including your own.
Note that this was a quick project that has not been tested much. It contains little to no error checking, so the prerequisites must be completed exactly according to instructions.