Are you trying to find your old messages or need to find an old iMessage attachment? Or perhaps you deleted an entire conversation or a message attachment in your Mac’s Messages app and want to retrieve it?
For many Mac users, messages and message history are automatically saved to their Macs. So, finding that missing or old message might be easier than you think.
Contents
Does My Mac Store My Text Messages and iMessage History?
I Use Messages in iCloud. Does My Mac Still Store My Messages?
How to Find iMessage Archive and See Missing or Old iMessages on Mac
How to Find Images and Videos You Exchanged in iMessage
Not Seeing Your Message Archive or Attachments?
How to Transfer Old iMessages to a New Mac or MacBook?
Transfer Messages From an Old Mac to a New Mac Using Messages in iCloud
Transfer Messages History to a New Mac With Library Folders
Move Your Message History Folder to a New Mac:
Does My Mac Store My Text Messages and iMessage History?
In the older versions of macOS (Sierra and earlier), your Mac, by default, stored all your iMessages on the hard drive.
In newer macOS versions like Sonoma, unless you sync with iCloud by enabling Messages in iCloud, your Mac keeps all your messages too, and you can set for how long you want it to keep them:
Open your Messages app and choose Messages > Settings from the top menu.
Click on the General tab.
In the Keep Messages drop-down you can set how long your Mac keeps your message history. There are three options: Forever, One Year, and 30 Days.
If you limit how long your Mac keeps messages, once you reach it, your Mac removes all outdated conversations including, images and other attachments.
I Use Messages in iCloud. Does My Mac Still Store My Messages?
If you enable Messages in iCloud on your Mac, your messages will be stored in the cloud, with only the most recent Messages stored locally on your Mac.
To use Messages in iCloud, you need to be signed in to iMessage using the same Apple ID on every device where you want to use this option. Also, the same option needs to be enabled on your other devices.
If you still haven’t enabled this option on your Mac but want to, here is how to do it:
Open your Messages app and then go to Messages > Settings.
Click on the iMessage tab.
Under your Apple ID, check the box next to Enable Messages in iCloud.
Your message history should now sync automatically. If not, click on the Sync Now button.
If you want to enable Messages in iCloud on your iPhone or iPad, do the following:
Go to Settings and tap on your Apple ID.
Tap on iCloud.
In the section Apps Using iCloud, tap on Show All following Messages in iCloud.
Toggle Use on this iPhone and then tap on Sync Now.
How to Find iMessage Archive and See Missing or Old iMessages on Mac
Your old messages are stored in a single file (chat.db) within your Mac’s Library. Access it using the following steps:
Open Finder and then click Go in the main menu.
Hold down the Option key, and the option for Library will appear in the dropdown menu.
Click on Library> Messages.
Open the chat.db file to find a complete archive of your messages.
To locate your message attachments, go to the Attachments folder.
Another way to access this folder:
Open Finder and then click Go in the top menu.
Then click on Go to Folder.
Type: ~/Library/Messages/
Hit the Return key.
Additionally, you can also use the shortcut Shift-Command-G and then enter your folder path.
The chat.db file keeps all your iMessage data from your current and active message histories.
You can use TextEdit or a similar program to open this chat file. While all your messages are stored in this file, a lot of other info is not readable.
Apple saves your conversations by each session, usually between each shutdown. Sleeping and closing the Message app several times a day also creates additional sessions.
How to Find Images and Videos You Exchanged in iMessage
The Attachment folder (folder path: ~/Library/Messages/Attachments) keeps a backup of your files. While the interior folder names don’t make much sense – just a bunch of numbers, sometimes with letters – your images and videos are there. You just have to look around for the exact attachment, photo, or video you want.
Not Seeing Your Message Archive or Attachments?
If you aren’t finding your message archive or any message attachments, it’s possible that your Message app preferences are set not to save your message history.
To check, open Messages > Settings and select the General Tab.
Under Application, make sure the checkbox for Save history when conversations are closed is ticked.
How to Transfer Old iMessages to a New Mac or MacBook?
For many people, their messages are a connection to the past. And when they purchase a new Mac or MacBook, they want to keep all those messages and move them to their new computer.
And the good news is that it is indeed possible, with several options on how to do it.
Transfer Messages From an Old Mac to a New Mac Using Messages in iCloud
The easiest way to transfer your messages and attachments from an old Mac or MacBook is to sync your iMessage history and attachments to a new one.
Note: You won’t have this option if you have an old Mac with anything under macOS 10.13.4 (High Sierra).
To sync your messages and attachments using iCloud, follow these steps:
In your Messages app head to Messages > Settings.
Click on the iMessage tab.
Make sure that the option Enable Messages in iCloud is checked.
Click the Sync Now button.
Transfer Messages History to a New Mac With Library Folders
If your Mac(s) don’t support Messages in iCloud or you don’t want to use this option, there is another way to transfer your old messages to a new device. Just copy and move your current user Library/Messages folder to the new Mac.
There are many ways to transfer this folder, including AirDrop, File Sharing, a handy thumb drive, and even Dropbox or Google Drive.
Move Your Message History Folder to a New Mac:
On the old Mac, open the ~/Library/Messages folder.
Copy that folder onto your method of choice (or drag it to AirDrop).
On the new Mac, open that same location ~/Library/Messages.
If it’s empty, drag the older Mac’s Messages folder to that location.
If the new Mac’s Library/Messages folder is not empty:
Copy its contents by right-clicking and choosing Duplicate.
Move the copy to your Desktop or another place you’ll remember, then delete the original Messages folder.
Finally, drag the older Mac’s Messages folder to that location.
Restart your new Mac.
You’ll now have messages from your old Mac on your new one. Your new Mac will also start saving any new conversations to the chat.db file you’ve just copied into the Messages folder.
That covers everything you need to know about accessing old messages and message attachments on your Mac and the ways to keep them safe or in sync with your other iDevices.
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Sudz Kar
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.
Sudz Kar