Who Task Bert is for#
Mac users tracking commitments from texts
Task Bert fits people whose appointments, promises, and follow-ups are scattered across iMessage threads.
Skip if:
Your important work conversations happen outside Apple Messages.
Claude Code users querying personal messages
The MCP server lets Claude Code search contacts, actions, and message history through local tools.
Skip if:
You do not want AI tools connected to private message history.
The problem it solves#
Important commitments often hide inside text messages: unanswered questions, loose plans, appointments, and details someone mentioned once. macOS Messages is not designed as a task manager or research database.
Searching chat history manually is slow, and uploading private conversations to a hosted assistant raises privacy concerns. A local app can index messages, generate action items, and let users query their own history with more control.
How it solves it#
Local iMessage indexing
Task Bert reads macOS chat.db and loads message history into embedded Postgres through PGLite.
Hybrid message search
The README lists full-text search, semantic search with local vector embeddings, and hybrid search as the default.
LLM-generated action items
Bert can generate conversation summaries and action items such as unanswered questions, commitments, and plans.
Claude Code MCP server
The README documents an MCP server that lets Claude Code search messages, ask questions, and pull actions.
Strengths and trade-offs#
Strengths
- Local-first message workflowReading chat.db locally and using an embedded database gives users more control than forwarding messages to a hosted task assistant.
- Search and actions in one appCombining search, summaries, action extraction, and thread view makes Task Bert more useful than a simple message search wrapper.
Trade-offs
- -Mac and iMessage onlyTask Bert depends on macOS Messages data and Full Disk Access, so it does not help Android, Windows, Slack, or WhatsApp workflows.
Install and self-host#
npm install
npm run mcpWhat it's built on#
- Languages
- JavaScriptPythonSwiftTypeScript
FAQ#
What does Task Bert do?
Task Bert indexes iMessage history on macOS and turns conversations into searchable summaries and action items.
Does Task Bert run locally?
Yes. The README says the app reads macOS chat.db and uses embedded Postgres/PGLite, though LLM features require an Anthropic or OpenAI API key.
Does Task Bert support MCP?
Yes. The README documents an MCP server for Claude Code with search, agent, actions, and contacts tools.
Similar open-source tools#
OpenBug
Open source collaborative workspace for debugging issues
AFFiNE
Local-first workspace combining docs, whiteboards, and notes
Leantime
Focus-first project management designed for neurodivergent teams
Taiga
Agile project management for Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid teams
Focalboard
Open source project management: Kanban, Scrum, and lists
freeCodeCamp
Join the FreeCodeCamp community and contribute!