wacrawl

name	wacrawl
description	Read-only local archive and full-text search of WhatsApp Desktop messages via the wacrawl CLI. Use for searching chat history, exporting conversations, and creating encrypted backups. macOS only (reads local WhatsApp Desktop SQLite databases).
platforms	["darwin"]
homepage	https://github.com/steipete/wacrawl
requires	{"bins":["wacrawl"],"install":[{"kind":"brew","formula":"steipete/tap/wacrawl","bins":["wacrawl"],"os":["darwin"]},{"kind":"go","module":"github.com/steipete/wacrawl/cmd/wacrawl@latest","bins":["wacrawl"]}]}
origin	{"source":"moltis","url":"https://github.com/moltis-org/moltis"}

wacrawl — WhatsApp Desktop Archive (Read-Only)

wacrawl is a read-only local archive tool for WhatsApp Desktop on macOS. It snapshots the local SQLite databases (ChatStorage.sqlite, ContactsV2.sqlite) without modifying them. Use it for searching chat history, exporting conversations, and creating encrypted backups.

This is different from wacli — wacrawl is read-only archaeology of local data; wacli is an active WhatsApp Web client for sending/receiving messages.

Secret Safety

• wacrawl reads local files only — no API tokens needed.
• The optional age encryption key at ~/.wacrawl/age.key is auto-generated and must not be printed to agent context.
• Never read, print, or send ~/.wacrawl/age.key to LLM context.

Prerequisites

• macOS only (reads WhatsApp Desktop's local SQLite databases).
• WhatsApp Desktop must be installed and have synced messages.
• Full Disk Access may be required for the terminal app to read WhatsApp's container.

Health Check

wacrawl doctor

Sync Local Data

wacrawl sync

Snapshots the current state of WhatsApp Desktop's databases into wacrawl's local store.

List Chats

wacrawl chats
wacrawl chats --limit 20
wacrawl chats --json

Search Messages

wacrawl search "query"
wacrawl search "invoice" --limit 20
wacrawl messages --chat <jid> --limit 50
wacrawl messages --chat <jid> --json

Encrypted Backup

wacrawl backup
wacrawl backup --output /path/to/backup/

Creates age-encrypted JSONL.gz shards suitable for Git-backed storage.

Saving to Memory

To save search results or chat exports to Moltis memory for future reference:

1. Run wacrawl with --json output
2. Summarize the relevant conversations into a daily digest
3. Save as memory/whatsapp/YYYY-MM-DD.md

Example workflow:

wacrawl search "project meeting" --json --limit 20

Then write a summary to memory:

# WhatsApp — 2026-04-28

## Key Conversations
- Discussion with Alice about project timeline — agreed on June deadline
- Bob shared the updated budget spreadsheet
- Team group: standup notes, blockers discussed

Notes

• Store dir: ~/.wacrawl (override with --store).
• Use --json for machine-readable output when parsing.
• JIDs: direct chats look like <number>@s.whatsapp.net; groups look like <id>@g.us.
• This tool cannot work inside a Linux sandbox — it requires macOS WhatsApp Desktop files.