kmsg — KakaoTalk CLI & MCP server for macOS

Project website · 한국어

kmsg is an unofficial KakaoTalk CLI and native MCP server for macOS.
It reads, watches, and sends messages through the macOS Accessibility API,
with structured output for local automation and AI agents.

Disclaimer: kmsg is not an official Kakao Corp. tool.
You are responsible for complying with applicable laws, service terms, and
organizational security policies in your own account and environment.
Use may result in account restrictions, malfunction, data loss, or other harm.
The reasoning behind using macOS Accessibility instead of the private LOCO
protocol is documented in Architecture
and represents the author's personal assessment, not Kakao's position.

Demo

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c620b2e3-7106-40fa-86d1-ed847e3b1a6f

Featured video

Builder Josh: 헤르메스 에이전트 5개로 뉴스 큐레이션부터 주식 매매까지 자동화한 방법 전부 공개합니다 (AI 엔지니어 샘 호트만님) — starts at 17:00

Sam Hottman: 나만의 Hermes 시스템 구축 방법 (문제정의부터 구축까지, 해외 AI 인사이트 발굴하기)

Highlights

• List chats and assign reusable local chat_id values.
• Read recent messages or watch a chat for new messages.
• Send text and images by controlling the visible KakaoTalk UI.
• Produce structured JSON while keeping AX traces on stderr.
• Run a native stdio MCP server with read, send, and image-send tools.
• Use background-safe reads, configurable window layouts, recovery modes, and
  a self-healing AX path cache.

Requirements

• macOS 13 or later
• KakaoTalk for macOS
• Accessibility permission for the installed kmsg binary

Installation

Homebrew is the primary installation path:

brew install channprj/tap/kmsg

Direct-download and source-build instructions are in USAGE.md.

Quick start

kmsg status
kmsg chats
kmsg read "Chat name" --limit 20
kmsg send "Chat name" "Hello" --dry-run

kmsg status requests Accessibility permission, launches KakaoTalk when
needed, and checks authentication. The final command is a dry run and does not
send a message.

More documentation

• Usage — installation, commands, configuration, examples, and troubleshooting
• Architecture — components, data flow, state, and design decisions
• OpenClaw integration — MCP and real-time watch integration
• Versioning — release format and automation
• Korean README — Korean mirror of this document

Frequently asked questions

What is kmsg?

kmsg is an unofficial, open-source KakaoTalk CLI and native MCP server for
macOS. It lets people, scripts, and AI agents read, watch, and send KakaoTalk
messages from the command line.

Is kmsg an official KakaoTalk tool?

No. kmsg is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with,
endorsed by, or maintained by Kakao Corp.

Which operating systems does kmsg support?

kmsg supports macOS 13 or later and requires KakaoTalk for macOS. It does not
support Windows, Linux, Android, or iOS.

How does kmsg access KakaoTalk?

kmsg controls the visible KakaoTalk macOS application through Apple's
Accessibility API. It does not implement KakaoTalk's private LOCO protocol.

Does kmsg include an MCP server?

Yes. The native kmsg mcp-server command exposes read, text-send, and
image-send tools over stdio for MCP-compatible clients and AI agents.

How do I install kmsg?

Install it with Homebrew by running brew install channprj/tap/kmsg. Direct
downloads and source-build instructions are available in Usage.

Inspiration

This project is strongly inspired by
steipete and his work on
imsg, as well as
OpenClaw.

License

kmsg is available under the MIT License.