steipete Wacrawl
Use this for WhatsApp Desktop archive questions. wacrawl is read-only against WhatsApp data and writes only its own archive.
Sources
- DB:
~/.wacrawl/wacrawl.db - Source:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared - Repo:
~/Projects/wacrawl - CLI:
wacrawl
Refresh
Check source/archive health:
wacrawl doctor
Import a fresh local snapshot:
wacrawl import
Inspect counts:
wacrawl status
Encrypted Git backup:
wacrawl backup status
wacrawl backup push
Query Workflow
- Refresh/import if the question depends on recent WhatsApp state.
- Resolve chat, sender, date range, media needs, and keyword.
- Use CLI for chats/messages/search; use JSON for scripts.
- Report exact date spans, counts, chat names/JIDs, and import freshness.
Common commands:
wacrawl chats --limit 20
wacrawl messages --after 2026-01-01 --limit 50
wacrawl --json search "query" --from-them
Safety
Do not write into the WhatsApp app container. Do not send messages; this tool is archive/read-only.
Verification
For repo edits:
go test ./...
make test
Then smoke:
wacrawl doctor
wacrawl status