read-mac-stickies

name	read-mac-stickies
description	Read and search Mac Stickies app content — list, filter by color, search by text, or read specific notes
use_cases	["What's in my Mac Stickies?","Show me my sticky notes","Read the purple sticky","Find the sticky that mentions quarterly review","Check my stickies for anything about the project deadline"]
tags	["productivity","mac","notes"]
last_updated	"2026-03-27T00:00:00.000Z"
tools_required	["Bash"]
agent_type	main_agent

Read Mac Stickies

Goal: Read, list, filter, and search content from the macOS Stickies app.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when users want to:

• Read or review their Mac sticky notes
• Find a specific sticky by color, size, or text content
• List all sticky notes with metadata
• Search across stickies for particular words or topics

Requirements

• macOS only - Stickies app is Mac-specific
• Stickies.app data must exist at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Stickies/

Process

Step 1: Understand What the User Wants

• Browse all stickies → list them first, then read as needed
• Find a specific sticky → use --color, --search, --largest, or combine filters
• Read everything → use --all

Step 2: Run the Script

List all stickies (shows UUID, size, color for each):

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py

Read all stickies' content:

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --all

Search for stickies containing specific text (case-insensitive):

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --search "quarterly review"

Filter by color:

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --color purple
python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --color blue --all

Read the largest sticky (by height — often the most detailed note):

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --largest

Combine filters (e.g. largest purple sticky, or search within blue stickies):

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --color purple --largest
python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --color blue --search "deadline"

Read a specific sticky by UUID:

python3 rebel-system/skills/admin/read-mac-stickies/scripts/read-mac-stickies.py --uuid ABC123...

Step 3: Present the Content

Present the sticky content clearly. Depending on context, highlight:

• Action items or todos
• Deadlines or dates
• Key topics or themes
• How the content relates to what the user asked about

Script Options

Option	Description
(no args)	List all stickies with metadata (UUID, size, color)
--all	Read and display text content of all stickies
--search TEXT	Find stickies containing the given text (case-insensitive)
--largest	Show text from the largest sticky (by height)
--color COLOR	Filter by color: purple, blue, green, yellow, pink/red, white/gray
--uuid UUID	Show text from a specific sticky by UUID

Filters can be combined: --color works with --all, --search, and --largest.

Tips

• Start with listing if the user's request is vague — show them what's available
• Color coding: Users often use colors to categorise (work vs personal, urgent vs later)
• Search is the fastest way to find a sticky when the user remembers some of the content but not which note it's in
• Largest sticky: Often contains the most detailed notes

Related Skills

• @check-todos-and-prioritise - Combine with other todo sources for comprehensive review
• @identify-dropped-balls - Analyse stickies for neglected priorities

Technical Notes

How Mac Stickies Storage Works:

• Location: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Stickies/Data/Library/Stickies/
• Each sticky: Stored as UUID.rtfd folder containing TXT.rtf file
• Metadata: .SavedStickiesState plist contains colors, sizes, positions
• Format: RTF (Rich Text Format), converted to plain text by script

Bundled Script (scripts/read-mac-stickies.py):

• Uses plutil to read plist metadata
• Uses textutil to convert RTF to plain text
• Detects colors based on RGB values in metadata
• Runs on any macOS system with Python 3 (no external dependencies)