I\u2019ve released a new command-line tool called AEQuery. It queries scriptable macOS applications using XPath-like expressions, translating them directly into Apple Events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The short version: you describe what you want using a slash-delimited path, and AEQuery resolves the SDEF terminology, constructs the Apple Events, and returns the results as JSON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
brew tap alldritt\/tools\nbrew install aequery<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nWhy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
AppleScript is powerful but verbose. Getting the names of your Finder windows requires a tell<\/code> block and a fair amount of ceremony. I wanted something I could fire off from the terminal, pipe into jq<\/code>, and integrate into shell scripts without the overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat it looks like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get the names of all Finder windows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
aequery '\/Finder\/windows\/name'\n# [\"AICanvas\", \"Documents\"]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPull every unique email address out of Contacts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
aequery '\/Contacts\/people\/emails\/value' --flatten --unique<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nFind Mail messages from a specific sender:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
aequery '\/Mail\/account\/mailboxes\/message[sender = \"someone@example.com\"]\/subject' --flatten<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThe expression syntax supports index access ([1]<\/code>, [-1]<\/code>), named lookups ([@name=\"Desktop\"]<\/code>), whose-clause filtering with and<\/code>\/or<\/code>, range slicing, and special selectors like middle<\/code> and some<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWorth highlighting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
--sdef<\/code> prints the SDEF definition for whatever class or property your path resolves to. It\u2019s a fast way to explore an app\u2019s scripting dictionary from the terminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n--find-paths<\/code> discovers all valid paths from the application root to a given class or property. If you know you want name<\/code> but you\u2019re not sure where it lives in Finder\u2019s object model, this will map it out:<\/p>\n\n\n\naequery --find-paths '\/Finder\/name'\n# \/Finder\/name\n# \/Finder\/files\/name\n# \/Finder\/windows\/name\n# ...<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n--applescript<\/code> and --chevron<\/code> translate your expression back into AppleScript source \u2014 useful when you want to start from a working query and build a larger script around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDefault output is JSON, so AEQuery slots into pipelines with jq<\/code> or anything else that speaks JSON.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSource<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The code is on GitHub<\/a>. There\u2019s also a discussion thread on MacScripter<\/a> if you\u2019ve got questions or feedback.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AEQuery I\u2019ve released a new command-line tool called AEQuery. It queries scriptable macOS applications using XPath-like expressions, translating them directly into Apple Events. The short…