Export iMessages by year

gistfile1.txt

#!/bin/bash

# Path to the iMessage database, adjust if necessary
DB_PATH=~/Library/Messages/chat.db

# Loop through years from 2016 to 2024
for YEAR in {2016..2024}
do
  echo "Exporting messages for $YEAR..."
  sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" <<EOF
.output imessage-for-$YEAR.txt
SELECT datetime(message.date/1000000000 + strftime('%s', '2001-01-01'), 'unixepoch', 'localtime') as formatted_date,
       CASE
           WHEN message.is_from_me = 1 THEN 'Me'
           ELSE 'Person-' || handle.ROWID
       END as sender,
       message.text as message
FROM message
LEFT JOIN handle ON message.handle_id = handle.ROWID
WHERE message.text IS NOT NULL AND message.text != '' AND strftime('%Y', datetime(message.date/1000000000 + strftime('%s', '2001-01-01'), 'unixepoch')) = '$YEAR'
ORDER BY message.date;
.output stdout
EOF
  echo "Done exporting messages for $YEAR."
done

echo "All messages have been exported."

What this does?
A: creates files (imessage-for-2021.txt, etc) containing a yearly dump of all your iMessages

1. Save this to "export_all_imessages.sh"
2. From terminal: chmod +x export_all_imessages.sh
3. Run it from terminal: ./export_all_imessages.sh