Convert Apple's plist file format to JSON or YAML (natural & high fidelity modes) effortlessly.
Often complex bundles and other files are very hard to read or seamlessly
port to other applications.
This Package Provides:
- A CLI tool for reading and converting PLIST that can be fully intgrated
with
shellscripting. - A golang module that can be imported directly into golang projects with an easy to use API.
- A native bundle (coming soon) that can be imported to any C-compatible applications (e.g. Swift, C, C++, Python, etc).
Consider using homebrew to install the utility from there:
brew install aurc/tap/plist
More information here: plist homebrew tap
# As CLI Tool
go install github.com/aurc/plist@latest
# Then (assumung $GOPATH/bin set in the path)
plist --helpOR
# For working only with parser lib on your go code
go get github.com/aurc/plist/pkg/plistparser
# For entire package with CLI tool on your local (more below)
go get github.com/aurc/plistTo get started:
go install github.com/aurc/plist@latest
Assuming your $GOPATH/bin is in your path, then:
plist -h
Output:
This tool converts Apple's Property List (.plist) inputs into several useful
formats, such as JSON and YAML.
It supports both a file name as input and a piped ('|') input which might be useful
on more involved shell scripts.
For example:
plist json -i myfile.plist
cat myfile.plist | plist json
For individual commands instructions run:
plist [command] -h
plist json -h
Usage:
plist [command]
Available Commands:
completion generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
help Help about any command
json Converts plist into JSON
yaml Converts plist into YAML
Flags:
-h, --help help for plist
-x, --high-fidelity Specifies whether the output should be a one-to-one translation of the plist.
Set to true, it's one-to-one. The default is false as it produces a more readable file.
-i, --input string Specifies a input file, e.g. --input myFile.plist
Use "plist [command] --help" for more information about a command.
Given the input
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>idle_wakeups</key><integer>103</integer>
<key>idle_wakeups_per_s</key><real>20.533</real>
<key>timer_wakeups</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>interval_ns</key><integer>2000000</integer>
<key>wakeups</key><integer>270</integer>
<key>wakeups_per_s</key><real>53.8244</real>
</dict>
<dict>
<key>interval_ns</key><integer>1500000</integer>
<key>wakeups</key><integer>170</integer>
<key>wakeups_per_s</key><real>22.44</real>
</dict>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>plist json -i docs/demo/demo.plist -p true
OR
cat docs/demo/demo.plist | plist json -p true
The natural conversion will hide the verbosity of datatypes, having types
to be easily inferred, for example a <real>1.1</real> becomes just 1.1
without quotes whereas a <dict> will look more like a JSON objects, with
the key entries listed as fields.
{
"idle_wakeups": 103,
"idle_wakeups_per_s": 20.533,
"timer_wakeups": [
{
"interval_ns": 2000000,
"wakeups": 270,
"wakeups_per_s": 53.8244
},
{
"interval_ns": 1500000,
"wakeups": 170,
"wakeups_per_s": 22.44
}
]
}plist yaml -i docs/demo/demo.plist
OR
cat docs/demo/demo.plist | plist yaml
Gives...
idle_wakeups: 103
idle_wakeups_per_s: 20.533
timer_wakeups:
- interval_ns: 2000000
wakeups: 270
wakeups_per_s: 53.8244
- interval_ns: 1500000
wakeups: 170
wakeups_per_s: 22.44plist json -i docs/demo/demo.plist -p true -x true
OR
cat docs/demo/demo.plist | plist json -p true -x true
Depending on your application, you might want a full, high fidelity translation, defining each entry and explicitly exposing the data types. For that, given the same input above, you'll have the following output:
{
"type": "dict",
"value": [
{
"k": "idle_wakeups",
"v": {
"type": "integer",
"value": "103"
}
},
{
"k": "idle_wakeups_per_s",
"v": {
"type": "real",
"value": "20.533"
}
},
{
"k": "timer_wakeups",
"v": {
"type": "array",
"value": [
{
"type": "dict",
"value": [
{
"k": "interval_ns",
"v": {
"type": "integer",
"value": "2000000"
}
},
{
"k": "wakeups",
"v": {
"type": "integer",
"value": "270"
}
},
{
"k": "wakeups_per_s",
"v": {
"type": "real",
"value": "53.8244"
}
}
]
},
{
"type": "dict",
"value": [
{
"k": "interval_ns",
"v": {
"type": "integer",
"value": "1500000"
}
},
{
"k": "wakeups",
"v": {
"type": "integer",
"value": "170"
}
},
{
"k": "wakeups_per_s",
"v": {
"type": "real",
"value": "22.44"
}
}
]
}
]
}
}
]
}Output as YAML (High fidelity)
plist yaml -i docs/demo/demo.plist -x true
OR
cat docs/demo/demo.plist | plist yaml -x true
type: dict
value:
- k: idle_wakeups
v:
type: integer
value: "103"
- k: idle_wakeups_per_s
v:
type: real
value: "20.533"
- k: timer_wakeups
v:
type: array
value:
- type: dict
value:
- k: interval_ns
v:
type: integer
value: "2000000"
- k: wakeups
v:
type: integer
value: "270"
- k: wakeups_per_s
v:
type: real
value: "53.8244"
- type: dict
value:
- k: interval_ns
v:
type: integer
value: "1500000"
- k: wakeups
v:
type: integer
value: "170"
- k: wakeups_per_s
v:
type: real
value: "22.44"
$ go get github.com/aurc/plist/pkg/plistparserpackage main
import (
"fmt"
"github.com/aurc/plist/pkg/plistparser"
)
func main() {
plistFile := `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<array>
<string>String</string>
</array>
</plist>`
out, _ := plistparser.Convert([]byte(plistFile), &plistparser.Config{
Target: plistparser.Json,
HighFidelity: false,
Beatify: true,
})
fmt.Println(string(out))
}plist is released under the Apache 2.0 license. See LICENSE