Install, Run, or Fix GhostReply

Install and start

GhostReply requires a Mac with Messages signed in, an internet connection, and a terminal app such as Terminal, iTerm, Warp, Visual Studio Code, Cursor, or Ghostty. It also needs Python and permission to read Messages and tell Messages to send. If Python is missing, the installer can download the official macOS package from python.org and install it after asking for your Mac password.

1. Open Terminal or the terminal app you plan to use.
2. Paste the command below and press Return. The installer verifies the downloaded app before it runs.
3. Follow the prompts for the 10-reply trial or license, your Groq API key, permissions, contact choice, reply mode, and speed.
4. After setup, run ghostreply whenever you want the listener on. Keep that Terminal process running.

Fix Full Disk Access

If GhostReply says the iMessage database is missing, permission is denied, or it cannot scan messages, grant Full Disk Access to the exact app that runs the command. Granting it to Terminal does not help if you actually run GhostReply inside Warp, Cursor, or another app.

1. Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Full Disk Access.
2. Turn on your terminal app. If it is not listed, add the application.
3. Quit that app completely when macOS asks. Reopen it and run ghostreply again.

Full Disk Access exposes sensitive files to that terminal app, not only to GhostReply. Only grant it to software you trust. Revoking it later prevents GhostReply from reading new messages.

Fix Messages Automation

macOS normally asks whether your terminal app can control Messages. Choose Allow. If a reply is generated but does not send, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, then Automation. Find your terminal app and turn on Messages beneath it. Make sure Messages is signed in and can send a normal iMessage manually.

If no Automation entry appears, run ghostreply and complete setup again so macOS can show the request. If the app still cannot send, quit and reopen both Messages and the terminal after changing permission.

Fix a Groq key

Create or manage the key in the Groq console. Paste it only into the GhostReply prompt. The key is stored in the local GhostReply configuration and used for requests sent directly from your Mac to Groq.

• If a newly created key returns 403, wait about 30 seconds and try it again.
• If verification fails, copy the full key again without spaces or line breaks and confirm the Mac is online.
• For an SSL certificate error, follow the app's suggested certificate-package update, then restart setup.
• Do not paste a Groq key into an email, screenshot, support form, public post, or shared terminal transcript.

Find or recover a license

LemonSqueezy sends the purchase receipt and license information to the email used at checkout. Search that inbox for the GhostReply or LemonSqueezy receipt, then paste the license key only into GhostReply's Terminal prompt. The app checks activation through the GhostReply backend and LemonSqueezy.

If the receipt is missing, the key is rejected, or a reinstall reaches an activation limit, email support@ghostreply.lol from the purchase email. Include the receipt or order reference and a short description of the error. Never email the license key itself.

Stop, take over, or uninstall

To stop the active listener, click its Terminal window, type stop, and press Return. Control-C also stops it. A manual reply should make GhostReply step aside for that conversation, but if timing matters, stop the process before typing in Messages. Closing the Terminal process turns the listener off too.

To remove GhostReply, run ghostreply --uninstall and confirm. This removes the main ~/.ghostreply folder and the command alias from the supported shell configuration, including the local profile, configuration, statistics, and downloaded script in that folder. Restart Terminal when it finishes. Read the privacy page for what uninstalling does not remove from providers or system records.

Contact support safely

Email support@ghostreply.lol with the Mac version, terminal app, GhostReply version from ghostreply --version, the step that failed, and the exact error after removing personal data. Do not send message contents, phone numbers, contact names, Groq API keys, license keys, or unredacted screenshots. A cropped or redacted screenshot is useful only when the remaining text cannot identify a person or expose a secret.