Improve permissions UX and add manual chat.db file selection

Permission screen improvements:
- Redesigned with clear explanation of what we access (~/Library/Messages/chat.db)
- Shows what we DON'T access (photos, documents, attachments)
- Explains why FDA is required ("Apple protects your Messages folder")
- Added step-by-step instructions for enabling FDA
- Changed icon from warning to lock for less scary appearance

Manual file selection fallback:
- Added "select a copied chat.db file manually" option for users who:
 - Refuse to grant FDA but can copy their database
 - Have Time Machine backups of their Messages folder
- Validates selected file is a valid iMessage database
- Uses Tauri dialog plugin for native file picker

Backend changes:
- list_chats() now accepts optional custom_db_path parameter
- export_chats() now accepts optional custom_db_path parameter
- Added validate_chat_db() function to verify database integrity
- CLI updated to use new function signatures

Analytics:
- Added funnel_selected_custom_db event for tracking fallback usage

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

Author: ndbroadbent

bun.lock

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
       "name": "chat-to-map-desktop",
       "dependencies": {
         "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.9.1",
+        "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog": "^2.4.2",
         "@tauri-apps/plugin-shell": "^2.3.3",
       },
       "devDependencies": {
@@ -185,6 +186,8 @@
 
     "@tauri-apps/cli-win32-x64-msvc": ["@tauri-apps/[email protected]", "", { "os": "win32", "cpu": "x64" }, "sha512-ldWuWSSkWbKOPjQMJoYVj9wLHcOniv7diyI5UAJ4XsBdtaFB0pKHQsqw/ItUma0VXGC7vB4E9fZjivmxur60aw=="],
 
+    "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog": ["@tauri-apps/[email protected]", "", { "dependencies": { "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.8.0" } }, "sha512-lNIn5CZuw8WZOn8zHzmFmDSzg5zfohWoa3mdULP0YFh/VogVdMVWZPcWSHlydsiJhRQYaTNSYKN7RmZKE2lCYQ=="],
+
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-shell": ["@tauri-apps/[email protected]", "", { "dependencies": { "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.8.0" } }, "sha512-Xod+pRcFxmOWFWEnqH5yZcA7qwAMuaaDkMR1Sply+F8VfBj++CGnj2xf5UoialmjZ2Cvd8qrvSCbU+7GgNVsKQ=="],
 
     "@types/estree": ["@types/[email protected]", "", {}, "sha512-dWHzHa2WqEXI/O1E9OjrocMTKJl2mSrEolh1Iomrv6U+JuNwaHXsXx9bLu5gG7BUWFIN0skIQJQ/L1rIex4X6w=="],

package.json

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.9.1",
+    "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog": "^2.4.2",
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-shell": "^2.3.3"
   }
 }

src-tauri/Cargo.lock

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ prettyplease = "0.2"
 [dependencies]
 tauri = { version = "2", features = [], optional = true }
 tauri-plugin-shell = { version = "2", optional = true }
+tauri-plugin-dialog = { version = "2", optional = true }
 serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1"
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ path = "src/cli.rs"
 
 [features]
 default = ["desktop"]
-desktop = ["tauri", "tauri-plugin-shell", "tauri/custom-protocol"]
+desktop = ["tauri", "tauri-plugin-shell", "tauri-plugin-dialog", "tauri/custom-protocol"]
 # Use local dev server instead of production
 dev-server = []
 

src-tauri/Cargo.toml

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
     "core:event:default",
     "core:event:allow-listen",
     "core:event:allow-emit",
-    "shell:allow-open"
+    "shell:allow-open",
+    "dialog:allow-open"
   ]
 }

src-tauri/capabilities/default.json

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ fn main() {
 }
 
 fn cmd_list_chats(verbose: bool, limit: Option<usize>, filter: Option<String>, json: bool) {
-    match chat_to_map_desktop::list_chats() {
+    match chat_to_map_desktop::list_chats(None) {
         Ok(mut chats) => {
             // Apply filter if provided
             if let Some(ref filter_str) = filter {

src-tauri/src/cli.rs

@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ const TIMESTAMP_FACTOR: i64 = 1_000_000_000;
 pub fn export_chats(
     chat_ids: &[i32],
     progress_callback: Option<ProgressCallback>,
+    custom_db_path: Option<&std::path::Path>,
 ) -> Result<ExportResult, String> {
     let emit_progress = |progress: ExportProgress| {
         if let Some(ref cb) = progress_callback {
@@ -128,7 +129,9 @@ pub fn export_chats(
     });
 
     // Connect to database
-    let db_path = default_db_path();
+    let db_path = custom_db_path
+        .map(|p| p.to_path_buf())
+        .unwrap_or_else(default_db_path);
     let db = get_connection(&db_path).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to connect to database: {e}"))?;
 
     // Build contacts index for name resolution

src-tauri/src/export.rs

@@ -117,11 +117,14 @@ pub fn resolve_chat_display_name(
 }
 
 /// List available iMessage chats
-pub fn list_chats() -> Result<Vec<ChatInfo>, String> {
+/// If custom_db_path is provided, uses that instead of the default ~/Library/Messages/chat.db
+pub fn list_chats(custom_db_path: Option<&std::path::Path>) -> Result<Vec<ChatInfo>, String> {
     eprintln!("[list_chats] Starting...");
 
     // Get database path
-    let db_path = default_db_path();
+    let db_path = custom_db_path
+        .map(|p| p.to_path_buf())
+        .unwrap_or_else(default_db_path);
     eprintln!("[list_chats] DB path: {:?}", db_path);
 
     // Connect to database
@@ -201,3 +204,43 @@ pub fn list_chats() -> Result<Vec<ChatInfo>, String> {
     eprintln!("[list_chats] Done! Returning {} chats", result.len());
     Ok(result)
 }
+
+/// Validate that a file is a valid iMessage chat.db database
+/// Returns true if it can be opened and contains the expected tables
+pub fn validate_chat_db(path: &std::path::Path) -> bool {
+    eprintln!("[validate_chat_db] Validating: {:?}", path);
+
+    // Check file exists
+    if !path.exists() {
+        eprintln!("[validate_chat_db] File does not exist");
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    // Try to open as SQLite database
+    let db = match get_connection(path) {
+        Ok(db) => db,
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("[validate_chat_db] Failed to open: {e}");
+            return false;
+        }
+    };
+
+    // Check for expected iMessage tables (chat, message, handle)
+    let result: Result<i64, _> = db.query_row(
+        "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name IN ('chat', 'message', 'handle')",
+        [],
+        |row| row.get(0),
+    );
+
+    match result {
+        Ok(count) => {
+            let valid = count >= 3;
+            eprintln!("[validate_chat_db] Found {count} expected tables, valid={valid}");
+            valid
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("[validate_chat_db] Query failed: {e}");
+            false
+        }
+    }
+}

src-tauri/src/lib.rs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use chat_to_map_desktop::{
     list_chats as lib_list_chats,
     screenshot::{capture_window, ScreenshotConfig},
     upload::{complete_upload, get_presigned_url, get_results_url, upload_file},
-    ChatInfo,
+    validate_chat_db as lib_validate_chat_db, ChatInfo,
 };
 use clap::Parser;
 use imessage_database::{tables::table::get_connection, util::dirs::default_db_path};
@@ -55,20 +55,32 @@ pub struct ExportResult {
 
 /// List available iMessage chats
 #[tauri::command]
-fn list_chats() -> Result<Vec<ChatInfo>, String> {
-    eprintln!("[tauri::list_chats] Command invoked");
-    let result = lib_list_chats();
+fn list_chats(custom_db_path: Option<String>) -> Result<Vec<ChatInfo>, String> {
+    eprintln!(
+        "[tauri::list_chats] Command invoked, custom_db_path: {:?}",
+        custom_db_path
+    );
+    let path = custom_db_path.as_ref().map(PathBuf::from);
+    let result = lib_list_chats(path.as_deref());
     eprintln!(
         "[tauri::list_chats] Result: {:?}",
         result.as_ref().map(|v| v.len())
     );
     result
 }
 
+/// Validate that a file is a valid iMessage chat.db database
+#[tauri::command]
+fn validate_chat_db(path: String) -> bool {
+    eprintln!("[tauri::validate_chat_db] Validating: {}", path);
+    lib_validate_chat_db(&PathBuf::from(path))
+}
+
 /// Export selected chats and upload to server
 #[tauri::command]
 async fn export_and_upload(
     chat_ids: Vec<i32>,
+    custom_db_path: Option<String>,
     window: tauri::Window,
 ) -> Result<ExportResult, String> {
     // Helper to emit progress
@@ -100,11 +112,13 @@ async fn export_and_upload(
         );
     });
 
-    let export_result =
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || export_chats(&chat_ids, Some(progress_callback)))
-            .await
-            .map_err(|e| format!("Export task failed: {e}"))?
-            .map_err(|e| format!("Export failed: {e}"))?;
+    let db_path = custom_db_path.map(PathBuf::from);
+    let export_result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        export_chats(&chat_ids, Some(progress_callback), db_path.as_deref())
+    })
+    .await
+    .map_err(|e| format!("Export task failed: {e}"))?
+    .map_err(|e| format!("Export failed: {e}"))?;
 
     // Stage 2: Get pre-signed URL (50-55%)
     emit("Uploading", 50, "Preparing upload...");
@@ -329,8 +343,10 @@ fn main() {
                 }
             }
         })
+        .plugin(tauri_plugin_dialog::init())
         .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![
             list_chats,
+            validate_chat_db,
             export_and_upload,
             check_full_disk_access,
             open_full_disk_access_settings,

src-tauri/src/main.rs

@@ -102,6 +102,9 @@ export const FunnelEvents = {
   /** User retried permission check */
   retriedPermission: () => trackEvent('funnel_retried_permission'),
 
+  /** User selected a custom chat.db file (fallback path) */
+  selectedCustomDb: () => trackEvent('funnel_selected_custom_db'),
+
   /** Chats loaded successfully */
   chatsLoaded: (count: number) => trackEvent('funnel_chats_loaded', { chat_count: count }),