How to Extract Attachments from MBOX File? – Get Best Solution

Published By Jamie Kaler

Approved By Rollins Duke

Published On July 16th, 2024

Reading Time 7 Min Read

This article is useful for users who are looking for an easy and better way to extract attachments from MBOX including emails and email addresses. Here you will get the complete information with a step-by-step guide to extract all email addresses from MBOX file with email and attachments. It will help to organize & manage user mailbox information.

We all know that there are a large number of e-mail clients and services that export or store e-mails in the MBOX file format. The reason for choosing these files as the preferred mailbox storage location is its simplified messaging structure.

One MBOX file can contain thousands of e-mail messages separated by the from_ keyword. It is flexible and portable, that is; you can easily share and access it on different platforms and devices. Because e-mail is sent and received continuously, the file size of the MBOX is getting bigger and bigger. The attached files embedded in e-mails are a major factor in increasing size.

The attached files may contain information that is sure to take up space. In the next section, we will understand the benefits to extract attachments from MBOX files and downloading them to a separate folder.

An attachment file may be an Image, Picture, Text file, Word Document, Excel Sheet, Presentation, Workbook, PDF file, Zip or RAR archive, EML file, MSG File, PST file, OST file, OLM file, etc.

These attached files may contain information that is sure to take up space. In the next section, we will understand the benefits of extracting all MBOX attachments and downloading them to a separate folder.

Not only this but sometimes users are required to export emails and email addresses for multiple works. So, we have compiled this blog, to extract emails, email addresses, and attachments from MBOX files. read all the information first and then select the best methods.

Reasons to Export Email Address and Attachments from MBOX?

Multiple reasons exist when users want to extract attachments from MBOX files with email addresses. Some of them are given below for better understanding:

Backup Purpose: May be user may want to save emails into another standard format like PDF as a backup purpose for future safety.
Migration Purpose: Switching from one to another email client is also a major reason. If any user wants to import their email MBOX file to Outlook account, so they probably convert MBOX to PST format.
Offline Access: Or might be user want to keep their emails offline for easy access anytime? Because the internet is required when you analyze your email in any supported email client.
Extract Attachments: Maybe your MBOX file is large because of large attachments, so users can extract and save them separately.
Email Addresses for Marketing: Most of the users want to know the methods to extract all email addresses from MBOX file, so that they can easily perform marketing and promote their products and services through email addresses.

How to Extract Attachments from MBOX Files and Email Addresses?

So, here we will explain the all methods to save email addresses and attachments using the Thunderbird email client. Because it’s free and open source for all. Before starting any process, you have to follow some compulsory and necessary steps.

Compulsory Steps to Import MBOX to Thunderbird

Start your Thunderbird email client.
And add ImportExportTools add-ons.
Restart your email client.
Click on the Tools >> ImportExportToolNG >> Import MBOX File option.
Select the Import Directly One or More MBOX Files option.
Choose the MBOX from the storage location.
Lastly, click on the Open button.

So first we will learn how to export attachments, The Attachment Extractor add-on makes it easier to extract attachments from MBOX files. Here’s how to use it:

Open Thunderbird and go to the Add-ons Manager.
Search and install the ImportExportTools NG add-on.
Import the MBOX file in this email client using this add-on.
Restart your email client and go to the Add-ons Manager.
Search for the Attachment Extractor add-on and click “Add to Thunderbird”.
Select the emails that contain the attachments you want to extract.
Right-click on the selection and choose “Extract Attachments”.
Choose the destination folder for the extracted attachments.
Click the “Extract” button.

The Attachment Extractor add-on will selectively extract attachments from MBOX files and save them to the specified folder. Note that you must have the add-on installed in Thunderbird to use it.

How to Extract Emails from MBOX File Manually?

After following the compulsory steps, now follow the mentioned steps:

Right-click on the uploaded folder.
Choose ImportExportToolNG >. Export Emails >> EML.
Browse the location as per your choice.
Lastly, click on the Save button.

After extracting emails, let’s move to the process of extracting email addresses from MBOX file.

How to Extract All Email Addresses from MBOX File?

Open Address Book using Tools.
Select the required address book.
Click on the Tools >> Export option.
Browse the destination to save the result.
Choose CSV from the saving type list.
Lastly, click on the Save button.

In the saved CSV file, you will get the list of email addresses in your file.

Why Users Don’t Prefer Manual Methods?

Compatibility Issues: The add-on may not work with all Thunderbird versions or stop working after a software update to extract attachments from MBOX files.
Inconsistent Performance: The add-on may not always work as expected. It has been reported to fail when working with a large number of emails.
Data Loss: There have been many cases where users lose their attachments and the add-on still hasn’t extracted anything.
Time-Taking and Lengthy: If you export your emails with a manual method, then this process will take a long time to accomplish.
Repeat Process: Also, users have to repeat the same process for each file and address book, because there is no bulk option available.
Third-Party Tool Installation: Users have to install and connect the profile on the system.

Alternate Method to Extract Attachments from MBOX Files with Emails

You can use RecoveryTools MBOX Converter for Mac & Windows machines. Users can easily export their emails in bulk at once without facing any file size limitations. This is the best alternate solution to export MBOX files into 30+ saving formats i.e., PST, PDF, MSG, MBOX, EML, DOC, TXT, and other email clients.

On the other hand, RecoveryTools MBOX Attachment Extractor comes with all kinds of features to extract attachments from MBOX files, regardless of their origin. You can easily extract the data from any kind of MBOX file, whether from Apple Mail, Google Takeout, Thunderbird, or any other MBOX-supported applications. It has a plethora of features.

So, you can select the alternate Mailbox Email Address Extractor method as per your requirements for emails and attachments separately.

Steps to Extract Attachments from MBOX Files

Step 1: Download and install the tool.
Step 2: Upload your MBOX Files/Folders.
Step 3: Select the needed folders/subfolders.
Step 4: Choose the needed location.
Step 5: Check the advanced modes as needed.
Step 6: Next button to extract attachments from MBOX files.

How to Extract Emails from MBOX File in Bulk?

Download the MBOX email extractor.
Add your single or multiple MBOX files.
Select the needed folders/subfolders.
Select the required saving option.
Choose the location and apply filters.
Lastly, the “Backup” button to extract emails from MBOX file.

The Verge

As per the high demand for the solution to extract attachments from MBOX files with emails and email addresses, here we have explained both manual and alternate solutions for you. You can choose the best method as per your choice and requirements. In this write-up, you will get ways to extract emails, attachments, and email addresses from your MBOX files. Read the complete article first, and then select the best ways.