Set up the iMessage plugin for Claude Code

This guide sets up the iMessage plugin from Anthropic's official plugin repository for Claude Code through the documented marketplace route. Before relying on it in production, review the full [README](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/tree/main/external_plugins/imessage) and the [access control documentation](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/main/external_plugins/imessage/ACCESS.md) in the repository. The plugin only works on macOS.

Check the prerequisites

The plugin requires a current version of Claude Code (check with claude --version) and only runs on a Mac with Messages.app set up. No separate runtime or bot token is needed, since the channel talks directly to local macOS facilities.

Grant Full Disk Access

Open System Settings under "Privacy & Security" → "Full Disk Access" and enable your terminal application there (for example Terminal.app or iTerm). Without this permission the channel cannot read the ~/Library/Messages/chat.db database and won't detect incoming messages.

Install and configure the plugin

In Claude Code, run these commands in order:

/plugin install imessage@claude-plugins-official
/imessage:configure
claude --channels plugin:imessage@claude-plugins-official

The second command walks you through the skill's setup, and the third starts Claude Code with the iMessage channel active. The first outbound reply attempt additionally triggers a macOS automation permission prompt for Messages.app, which you need to confirm.

Grant access

In the default "allowlist" policy, messages from unknown senders are dropped; only your own self-chat works without further approval. Approve additional contacts via /imessage:access allow <phone-number-or-apple-id>. For the occasional single contact, use the pairing flow instead: the unknown sender receives a confirmation code on their first message, which they need to send back to you.

Keep security in mind

SMS and RCS messages stay disabled by default, since sender IDs on those services are spoofable. Because the channel has full read access to your private message database, the configuration under ~/.claude/channels/imessage/access.json deserves a periodic review, especially before enabling additional group chats by GUID.