8

Is it possible to retrieve my Apple ID two-factor authentication code via the terminal instead of the GUI prompt, i.e. via ssh or a bash script?

I don't own any Apple devices other than a headless Mac mini for iOS development (I am loaning some iOS devices for development, but don't want to mark those as trusted, for obvious reasons).

Right now, I have to remote desktop into the Mac mini to get the 2FA code whenever I need it. I'd like to be able to at least just ssh, if not set up a bash script to text me when prompted.

Improve this question
3
  • 6
    Are you looking for Apple's (iCloud) 2FA specifically, or a generic 2FA retrieval mechanism?
    – IconDaemon
    Sep 18, 2018 at 19:02
  • @IconDaemon I'm looking for Apple's 2FA specifically. Updated my post to include that.
    – nratcliff
    Sep 19, 2018 at 11:15
  • 1
    The ultimate hack: take a screenshot and pipe it over SSH.
    – Zenexer
    Jan 6, 2019 at 8:46

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

I came up with a pretty simple solution to this problem using AppleScript that should print the 2FA code:

#! /usr/bin/env osascript tell application "System Events" if name of every process contains "FollowUpUI" then tell window 1 of process "FollowUpUI" click button "Allow" delay 2 set code to value of static text 1 of group 1 log (code) click button "Done" end tell else log ("Couldn't find 2FA window") end if end tell return

Adding this to a file and making it executable using chmod +x name_of_file.scpt should create a script that can be run over ssh by executing ./name_of_file.scpt while in the same directory as the file.

Note: When you run this script over ssh for the first time, the following popup should appear:

enter image description here

Simply clicking "OK" should allow the script to run properly. This preference will automatically be saved, and can be modified by going into System Preferences->Security & Privacy->Privacy->Accessibility

This worked for me on macOS Mojave, but it may work on other versions as well.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .