imsg2spot 0.1.5

turn spotify links from an imessage group into a spotify playlist

overview

turn imessage spotify links from a group chat into a spotify playlist. it runs locally on your mac, keeps only songs, de‑dupes, and orders oldest → newest.

install

pipx install imsg2spot

requirements (super short): macos with messages history, python 3.9+.

mac permissions (first‑time only):

1. open system settings
2. privacy & security
3. full disk access
4. turn on "terminal" (or the shell/ide you’ll use)

then quit and reopen the terminal.

commands

list-chats

• overview
  • shows recent chats so you can identify the right group
  • --limit N: how many chats to show (default 50)
  • --filter-participant HANDLE: only show chats that include this handle; repeatable
    • HANDLE can be a phone in e164 (e.g., +00000000000) or an apple id email
• example

imsg2spot list-chats --limit 50
# narrow by member(s)
imsg2spot list-chats --limit 200 \
  --filter-participant "+00000000000" \
  --filter-participant "[phone]"

dry-run

• overview
  • preview what will be added (no spotify changes)
  • pick exactly one chat selector:
    • --chat-name NAME (case-insensitive)
    • --chat-id ID (from list-chats)
    • --number PHONE (for 1-on-1 conversations)
  • optional: --db PATH if you're using a copied db
• example

# by name
imsg2spot dry-run --chat-name "group name"
# or by id
imsg2spot dry-run --chat-id 20
# or by phone number (1-on-1 conversations only)
imsg2spot dry-run --number "[phone]"

make-playlist

• overview
  • creates/updates your playlist on spotify (opens browser to authorize)
  • same chat selector as dry-run: choose --chat-name NAME, --chat-id ID, or --number PHONE
  • --name PLAYLIST_NAME: playlist title
  • --public: makes the playlist public (omit for private)
  • optional: SPOTIFY_REDIRECT_URI to change the local port if 8000 is busy
• example

# by name
imsg2spot make-playlist --chat-name "group name" --name "my playlist" --public
# or by id
imsg2spot make-playlist --chat-id 20 --name "my playlist" --public
# or by phone number (1-on-1 conversations only)
imsg2spot make-playlist --number "[phone]" --name "songs with friend" --public

copying your live messages db (optional but safer)

mkdir -p db
sqlite3 ~/Library/Messages/chat.db ".backup 'db/chat.db'"

use --db db/chat.db if you copied it to a different path.

that’s it. if anything looks off, run dry‑run first. if port 8000 is busy, set SPOTIFY_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback and re‑run.