signal-mcp

signal-mcp is a layer on top of signal-cli that adds everything it's missing: persistent message history, full-text search, a usable conversation view, contact name resolution, and an MCP server so Claude can read, search, and act on your Signal messages. 100% local — no cloud, no third-party services.

v1.29.0 — New sync_desktop / sync-desktop: incremental sync from Signal Desktop — fast on repeat calls, imports only new messages since the last run. Plus: incoming edits update the stored copy in-place, fixes for 500+ conversation crashes, improved store reliability.

What signal-cli is missing — and what signal-mcp adds

No history. signal-cli delivers a message and forgets it. signal-mcp stores every sent and received message — including messages sent from your phone — in a local SQLite database. It stays there. You can search it, browse it, export it, and ask Claude about it.

No search. signal-mcp adds an FTS5 full-text index. Find any message by keyword, filter by sender, page through results.

No conversation view. signal-cli has no concept of a thread. signal-mcp gives you paginated history per contact or group, unread counts, and last-message previews across all your chats.

Raw phone numbers everywhere. signal-mcp resolves +12025551234 → Anna Schmidt in all output.

Manual daemon management. signal-mcp auto-starts the daemon on first use, restarts it if it crashes, and can install a background service (macOS LaunchAgent or Linux systemd) that captures every incoming message — even when you're not at your computer.

CLI and MCP: use whichever fits the task

The CLI and MCP server share the same store and daemon. You don't have to choose one:

Features

• Persistent SQLite store — every message saved locally, survives restarts
• FTS5 full-text search — instant search across entire history
• Signal Desktop import — migrate your complete history in one command (macOS/Linux/Windows)
• Background service — captures messages automatically, even when Claude isn't running
• Export — JSON or CSV with recipient and date filters
• Contact name resolution — phone numbers resolved to names everywhere
• 72 MCP tools — complete signal-cli coverage (see coverage matrix)
• Incoming edit handling — when contacts edit their messages, the stored copy updates in-place
• Full CLI — all the above without Claude, from your terminal
• 100% local — your data never leaves your machine

Setup

Step 1 — Install signal-cli

signal-mcp is a front-end for signal-cli, which handles the Signal protocol.

macOS

brew install signal-cli

Linux Download the latest release from signal-cli releases, extract it, and put the signal-cli binary on your $PATH.

Step 2 — Link your Signal account

signal-cli needs to be linked to your existing Signal account (the same way you'd add a linked device in Signal mobile).

signal-cli link --name "MyMac"

This prints a QR code in your terminal. On your phone:

Signal → Settings → Linked Devices → + → scan the QR code

Once scanned, signal-cli is linked and ready.

Step 3 — Install signal-mcp

With uv (recommended):

uv tool install signal-mcp

With pip or pipx:

pip install signal-mcp
# or
pipx install signal-mcp

From source:

git clone https://github.com/googlarz/signal-mcp
cd signal-mcp
uv tool install .

Verify it works:

signal-mcp status
# → Account : +1234567890
# → Daemon  : stopped (port 7583)

Step 4 — Connect to Claude Code

claude mcp add signal -- signal-mcp serve

Restart Claude Code. Signal tools appear automatically — ask Claude "check my Signal messages" to confirm.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "signal": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["signal-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "signal": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["signal-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "signal": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/signal-mcp", "signal-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Step 5 — (Optional) Import Signal Desktop history

If you use Signal Desktop on macOS, import your full message history in one command:

brew install sqlcipher       # required for decryption
signal-mcp import-desktop    # macOS will prompt for Keychain access — click Allow

Step 6 — (Optional) Enable background message capture

signal-cli only delivers messages when polled. Install the background service so nothing is missed:

signal-mcp install-service   # starts on login, works on macOS and Linux

MCP Tools

Messaging

Configuration

Sticker Packs

Contacts

Groups

History & Search

Security & Devices

Polls

Disappearing Messages

Data & Import

CLI Usage

# Status & daemon
signal-mcp status                          # account + daemon info
signal-mcp daemon                          # start daemon in foreground
signal-mcp stop                            # stop the daemon

# Send & receive
signal-mcp send +1234567890 "Hello!"
signal-mcp send-group <group_id> "Hey!"
signal-mcp note "Remember to buy milk"     # save a note to yourself
signal-mcp receive                         # poll once
signal-mcp receive --watch                 # keep watching (saves to store)

# Edit
signal-mcp edit +1234567890 <timestamp> "corrected text"
signal-mcp edit <group_id> <timestamp> "corrected text"

# Pin / unpin / admin-delete messages
signal-mcp pin +1234567890 <timestamp> +1234567890
signal-mcp unpin +1234567890 <timestamp> +1234567890
signal-mcp admin-delete <group_id> <timestamp> +1234567890

# Devices
signal-mcp update-device <device_id> "My Laptop"

# Contacts & groups
signal-mcp contacts
signal-mcp contacts --json
signal-mcp groups
signal-mcp conversations                   # list all chats with unread count + last message

# History & search
signal-mcp history +1234567890
signal-mcp history +1234567890 --limit 20
signal-mcp history +1234567890 --limit 20 --offset 20   # page 2
signal-mcp history +1234567890 --since 2024-01-01
signal-mcp search "keyword"
signal-mcp search "keyword" --sender +1234567890   # restrict to one contact
signal-mcp search "keyword" --limit 20
signal-mcp store-stats

# Export
signal-mcp export                                          # all messages as JSON to stdout
signal-mcp export messages.json                            # save to file
signal-mcp export messages.csv --format csv                # CSV format
signal-mcp export --recipient +1234567890 --format csv     # one conversation
signal-mcp export --since 2024-01-01                       # messages from date

# Signal Desktop import (macOS) — one-time full import
signal-mcp import-desktop
signal-mcp sync-desktop                    # incremental: only new messages since last sync

# Background service (macOS LaunchAgent or Linux systemd)
signal-mcp install-service    # auto-starts on login, captures all messages
signal-mcp uninstall-service

# MCP server (for Claude Code)
signal-mcp serve

Getting full message history

signal-cli only delivers new messages — it has no history API. Two ways to get history:

Going forward (captures everything from now on):

signal-mcp install-service   # background watcher, auto-starts on login

Retroactively (imports everything from Signal Desktop):

signal-mcp import-desktop    # macOS will prompt for Keychain access — click Allow

Run both for complete coverage.

Architecture

                    ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
                    │  signal-cli daemon  (:7583)      │
                    │  Signal protocol / libsignal     │
                    └──────────┬──────────────┬────────┘
                               │ sends/receives│
                    ┌──────────▼──────────┐   │ (when no service)
                    │  background service  │   │
                    │  LaunchAgent/systemd │   │
                    └──────────┬──────────┘   │
                               │ writes        │
                    ┌──────────▼──────────────▼────────┐
                    │  SQLite store                     │
                    │  ~/.local/share/signal-mcp/       │
                    │  messages.db  (FTS5 indexed)      │
                    └────────────────┬─────────────────┘
                                     │ reads/writes
                   ┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
                   │                 │                  │
        ┌──────────▼──────┐ ┌────────▼───────┐ ┌──────▼──────────┐
        │  Claude Code /  │ │  signal-mcp    │ │  signal-mcp CLI │
        │  Claude Desktop │ │  serve (MCP)   │ │  (terminal)     │
        │  (asks Claude)  │ └────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
        └─────────────────┘

How it works:

get_unread is the primary "check for new messages" tool. If the background service is installed, it reads straight from the store (the service keeps it up to date). Otherwise it polls signal-cli first (debounced to once every 30 seconds) and includes a _warning suggesting signal-mcp install-service. list_conversations is a pure store read — fast, no polling.

The daemon starts automatically on first use. Attachments are saved to ~/Downloads/signal-attachments/.

signal-cli Coverage

signal-mcp wraps the signal-cli JSON-RPC daemon. Here's what is and isn't covered:

Covered (72 tools)

Plus tools with no direct signal-cli equivalent: get_conversation, search_messages, list_conversations, store_stats, import_desktop, sync_desktop, export_messages, mark_as_unread, clear_local_store, delete_local_messages, prune_store.

Not covered

These commands are deliberately excluded — they are not feasible to implement as MCP tools:

Development

git clone https://github.com/googlarz/signal-mcp
cd signal-mcp
uv sync --dev
uv run pytest
uv run pytest --cov --cov-report=term-missing

573 tests, 100% line coverage across all modules. All tests are fully mocked — no signal-cli installation or Signal account required to run them.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to add new tools.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.