Mozilla Thunderbird: archiving emails with an email client

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Thunderbird is a free open-source email client from Mozilla, also known for the Firefox browser, which allows you to export individual emails in EML or email archives in MBOX.

Retrieving webmail

Open Mozilla Thunderbird. If you have not used Thunderbird before, you will be asked to set up your email. Enter your name, email address and password, and click 'Continue'.

Thunderbird searches your email servers for incoming and outgoing email. Select 'IMAP' and click 'Done'.

If everything is filled in correctly, you will receive a message that your account has been successfully created. You may first be redirected to your email provider (e.g. Gmail) to confirm your account and give Thunderbird permission to retrieve your emails.

Thunderbird will now start retrieving all emails.

Exporting emails to the folder structure

Open the message that you want to export.
In the window, click 'File' and then 'Save as'. Select to save the message as a file. Or right-click on the message itself and choose 'Save As'.

Select a folder where you want to save the email and choose the format 'Email files'.

The email is saved as an EML file.

Bulk export emails with ImportExportTools NG

You can use the ImportExportTools NG extension (add-on) in Thunderbird to easily bulk export emails. This tool provides additional export options to Thunderbird.

Install ImportExportTools NG

Go to 'Settings'

Click on 'Add-ons and Themes' at the bottom

Search for importexport

When you find the add-on, choose 'Add to Thunderbird'.

You will receive a message asking if you really want to add the add-on. When you confirm this, ImportExportTools is installed.

Save a bulk of individual emails

Right-click on the folder you want to export.
Choose 'ImportExportTools NG - Export all messages in folder - EML message format - Messages and HTML index'.

Select the folder where you want to place the folder with emails.

All emails are saved. A file called 'index.html' is also saved, which is an HTML file with a table of all the emails you have exported.

Saving an email archive in MBOX

Right-click on the email account or folder you want to archive.
Choose 'ImportExportTools NG - Export folder (mbox)'.

You will receive a message. This message warns you that only the emails on your computer will be exported. If all emails from your email address have not yet been retrieved, they will be missing. Click 'OK' or wait until all your emails have been retrieved.

Select the folder you want to save the email archive to and click 'Select folder'.
Mozilla Thunderbird exports the entire email archive in MBOX. An MBOX file is created for each folder in the mailbox.

Authors: Nastasia Vanderperren (meemoo) with help from Rony Vissers (meemoo) and Pieter De Praetere