json to vcf contact creation designed for telegram export contact feature

json2vcf.sh

#!/bin/bash
##############################################################################
# Script to convert a JSON file to VCF format
# was originally created for Telegram contacts when using
# export contact feature
##############################################################################
# Author: https://github.com/aaronedev
# Version: 1.0
# License: MIT
# 2025-08-08
# Dependencies: jq
# Usage: ./json2vcf.sh <input_json_file> [output_directory]
# Example: ./json2vcf.sh contacts.json
# Output: ./vcf_contacts/
##############################################################################

# Check if jq is installed
if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
	echo "Error: jq is required but not installed. Install with: pacman -S jq"
	exit 1
fi

# Check if input file is provided
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
	echo "Usage: $0 <json_file> [output_directory]"
	echo "Example: $0 telegram_contacts.json ./vcf_contacts/"
	exit 1
fi

JSON_FILE="$1"
OUTPUT_DIR="${2:-./vcf_contacts}"

# Check if JSON file exists
if [ ! -f "$JSON_FILE" ]; then
	echo "Error: File '$JSON_FILE' not found"
	exit 1
fi

# Create output directory
mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

# Function to generate UID (using sha256 hash of contact info)
generate_uid() {
	local first_name="$1"
	local last_name="$2"
	local phone="$3"
	echo -n "${first_name}${last_name}${phone}" | sha256sum | cut -d' ' -f1
}

# Function to format phone number (convert to international format)
format_phone() {
	local phone="$1"
	# Remove leading zeros and add + if it starts with country code
	if [[ $phone =~ ^00([0-9]+)$ ]]; then
		echo "+${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
	else
		echo "$phone"
	fi
}

# Function to create safe filename from name
safe_filename() {
	local name="$1"
	# Replace spaces and special chars with underscores, remove multiple underscores
	echo "$name" | sed 's/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/_/g' | sed 's/__*/_/g' | sed 's/^_\|_$//g'
}

# Parse JSON and create VCF files
jq -r '.contacts.list[] | @base64' "$JSON_FILE" | while read -r contact_b64; do
	# Decode base64 and extract contact info
	contact=$(echo "$contact_b64" | base64 --decode)

	first_name=$(echo "$contact" | jq -r '.first_name // ""')
	last_name=$(echo "$contact" | jq -r '.last_name // ""')
	phone_number=$(echo "$contact" | jq -r '.phone_number // ""')

	# Skip if no phone number
	if [ -z "$phone_number" ]; then
		echo "Warning: Skipping contact with no phone number"
		continue
	fi

	# Create full name (FN field)
	if [ -n "$first_name" ] && [ -n "$last_name" ]; then
		full_name="$first_name $last_name"
	elif [ -n "$first_name" ]; then
		full_name="$first_name"
	elif [ -n "$last_name" ]; then
		full_name="$last_name"
	else
		full_name="Unknown Contact"
	fi

	# Create structured name (N field: Last;First;;;)
	structured_name="${last_name};${first_name};;;"

	# Generate UID
	uid=$(generate_uid "$first_name" "$last_name" "$phone_number")

	# Format phone number
	formatted_phone=$(format_phone "$phone_number")

	# Create safe filename
	safe_name=$(safe_filename "$full_name")
	filename="${OUTPUT_DIR}/${safe_name}_${uid:0:8}.vcf"

	# Generate VCF content
	cat >"$filename" <<EOF
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
UID:$uid
FN:$full_name
N:$structured_name
TEL;TYPE=CELL:$formatted_phone
CATEGORIES:myContacts
END:VCARD
EOF

	echo "Created: $filename"
done

echo "VCF conversion completed. Files saved to: $OUTPUT_DIR"

# Optional: Create a combined VCF file
read -r -p "Create a single combined VCF file? (y/n): " create_combined

if [[ $create_combined =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
	combined_file="${OUTPUT_DIR}/all_contacts.vcf"
	cat "${OUTPUT_DIR}"/*.vcf >"$combined_file"
	echo "Combined VCF created: $combined_file"
fi