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I'm looking for the file that corresponds to my account photo (this is also my ichat icon)

This is what I'm talking about:

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So your trying to get the actual image file? – rexfinn Apr 17 '12 at 22:27
yup, that's exactly what i'm trying to do (stupid length requirement lol..) – Horace Loeb Apr 17 '12 at 22:29

1 Answer

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If you wish to extract a 320x320 version of your account picture you can do so by running the following command: dscl . -read /Users/short_username JPEGPhoto | tail -1 | xxd -r -p > /PATH/TO/accountImage.jpg

Since a 320x320 image would be too small for many purposes, it would be preferable to look first for the actual photo in ~/Library/Images/iChat Recent Pictures/.

The following "generic" command, when copy-pasted directly into Terminal and run without modification, creates a small file named MyAccountPic.jpg on the current user's Desktop:

dscl . -read /Users/`id -un` JPEGPhoto | tail -1 | xxd -r -p > ~/Desktop/MyAccountPic.jpg
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Links often break over time. Please summarize the contents of external sites in your answer rather than simply linking. – Daniel Lawson♦ Apr 18 '12 at 20:56
Okay, is that better? – rexfinn Apr 18 '12 at 21:10
much better! Thanks – Daniel Lawson♦ Apr 18 '12 at 21:43

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