plist2json.py

#! /usr/bin/env python3

# Short program to read macOS plist files and output JSON; useful for manipulating / viewing the JSON with a tool like jq.

import fileinput
import json

import plistlib

def plist_to_json(plist):
    return json.dumps(plistlib.loads(plist))

def lines_to_json(plist_lines):
    return plist_to_json(b''.join(plist_lines))

def main():
    lines = []
    for line in fileinput.input(mode='rb'):
        if lines and fileinput.isfirstline():
            print(lines_to_json(lines))
            lines = []
        lines.append(line)

    if lines:
        print(lines_to_json(lines))

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()