# Install imessage-ruby with Homebrew Command-line tool to send text and attachment in Message.app. Version 0.4.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-06. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:imessage-ruby ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install imessage-ruby ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:imessage-ruby - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.4.0 - **Source summary:** Command-line tool to send text and attachment in Message.app - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-06T17:23:03Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - imessage (cli) - imessage (alias) ## Dependencies - ruby ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on all ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.4.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-06 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/linjunpop/imessage - Upstream latest detected: v0.4.0 (current) ## Project history and usage imessage-ruby is a small Ruby command-line tool and gem for sending text and attachments through macOS Message.app. Its scope is intentionally narrow: expose Apple's desktop messaging app to shell commands. ### Project history The GitHub repository was created in November 2013, and the RubyGems API records version 0.0.1 on the same day. The changelog describes the initial implementation as sending iMessage, followed by attachment support in 0.1.0 and standalone execution support in 0.2.0. The project presents itself as the imessage gem, while Homebrew packages it as imessage-ruby to avoid ambiguity with Apple's service name and to make the executable installable through brew. ### Adoption history Adoption appears modest and Mac-specific, which matches the tool's dependency on Message.app. The README documents installation as either a Homebrew package or a Ruby gem, and RubyGems records tens of thousands of total downloads across the gem's lifetime. The changelog shows a small maintenance burst in 2015, then later packaging fixes in 2022, including Homebrew installation behavior and gem builds without git installed. ### How it is used The CLI accepts text, an optional attachment, and comma-separated contacts. A typical invocation sends a message body to an email address or phone contact and optionally includes a file attachment. Because it drives Message.app on macOS, it belongs to local automation and developer convenience scripts rather than cross-platform messaging infrastructure. ### Why package nerds care imessage-ruby is interesting as a tiny wrapper around a proprietary desktop capability. It is the sort of package that exists because a platform has a useful local automation hook and users want it in cron jobs, shell scripts, or quick developer workflows. Its Homebrew formula is arguably as important as the gem: brew gives Mac users a one-command install path for a tool whose usefulness is inherently tied to macOS. ### Timeline - 2013: Version 0.0.1 is published on RubyGems and implements sending iMessage. - 2014: Version 0.0.2 keeps Ruby 1.9 compatibility. - 2015: Version 0.1.0 adds attachment sending; 0.2.0 makes standalone execution possible; 0.3.x improves errors and Homebrew installation behavior. - 2022: Version 0.4.0 fixes gem builds without git installed. ### Related projects - Message.app on macOS is the platform application the tool automates. - RubyGems distributes the imessage gem, while Homebrew distributes the imessage-ruby formula. - Other Mac messaging automation projects, including Python and Rust iMessage tooling, occupy adjacent but usually broader reverse-engineering or API-wrapper territory. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** imessage-ruby - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Requirements:** macos - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Package publisher tools](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/package-publishers/) - Belongs to a package publishing or registry command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [ruby](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ruby/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [activemq-cpp](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/activemq-cpp/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, messaging. - [gist](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gist/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ruby. - [locateme](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/locateme/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, macos. - [nng](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nng/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, messaging. - [selecta](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/selecta/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ruby. - [zeromq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/zeromq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, messaging. - [anycable-go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/anycable-go/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ruby. - [brew-gem](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/brew-gem/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, ruby. - [youplot](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/youplot/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, command-line, developer, developer-tools, line. - [chars](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/chars/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, command-line, developer, developer-tools, line. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/imessage-ruby.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/imessage-ruby.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph