@parseaple/bplist

A TypeScript parser for Apple's binary property list (bplist) format.

Based on node-bplist-parser by Joe Ferner.

Many thanks to Joe Ferner for the original implementation.

What is bplist?

Binary property list (bplist) is a compact binary serialization format used by Apple for storing structured data. It's commonly found in macOS and iOS system files, application preferences, Info.plist files, and various other configuration files. Binary plists are more efficient than their XML counterparts and support additional data types like dates, binary data, and UID references.

Installation

npm install @parseaple/bplist

Usage

Parse a file

import * as bplist from "@parseaple/bplist";

const [data] = await bplist.parseFile("Info.plist");
console.log(data);

Parse synchronously

import * as bplist from "@parseaple/bplist";

const [data] = bplist.parseFileSync("Info.plist");
console.log(data);

Parse from buffer

import * as bplist from "@parseaple/bplist";
import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";

const buffer = readFileSync("myPlist.bplist");
const [data] = bplist.parseBuffer(buffer);
console.log(data);

Legacy callback style

import { parseFile } from "@parseaple/bplist";

parseFile("myPlist.bplist", (err, data) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(data);
});

Supported types

The library supports all standard binary plist types:

• Null (null)
• Boolean (true, false)
• Integer (including 64-bit bigint)
• Real (floating-point numbers)
• Date (Date objects)
• Data (Buffer objects)
• ASCII String and UTF-16 String (string)
• UID (represented as { UID: number })
• Array (Array)
• Dictionary (Object)

Development

bun install
bun run build
bun run test

License

MIT