Open MBOX File · Free MBOX Viewer
MBOX stores many emails one after another in a single file. Mail downloaded through Gmail Takeout, and mailboxes exported from Thunderbird or Apple Mail, come in this format. Drop the file here to see the list, the bodies and the attachments without importing anything into a mail program. The file never leaves your device.
No upload
Drop your files here
Drop .eml, .msg, .pst, .ost, .mbox or .emlx files, a folder or a ZIP to browse them like a mailbox. Files open only inside this browser.
How to open an MBOX file
- 1
Drop the .mbox file
Use the .mbox from your unzipped Takeout download, or an .mbox (.mbx) exported from a mail program. Several at once is fine.
- 2
Pick an email from the list
The email list appears, split into folders by label for Gmail Takeout. Select an email to see its body and attachments.
- 3
Search and save
Search by sender, date range, attachment name or body text. Save emails as PDF or .eml, and the list as CSV.
About MBOX files
Where .mbox files come from
Exporting Gmail through Google Takeout gives you a ZIP containing a file named something like "All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox". People usually download it before closing an account or when a Google Workspace account is being wound down.
Thunderbird can export a folder as .mbox, and Apple Mail on the Mac makes one with "Export Mailbox". On a Mac that .mbox looks like a folder, and the file called mbox inside it holds the mail.
| Source | File | In this viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail Takeout | .mbox inside the ZIP | Labels shown as folders |
| Thunderbird | Exported .mbox | Opens the folder's mail as is |
| Apple Mail | The mbox file inside the exported .mbox | Opens as an email list |
Gmail labels as folders
A Takeout .mbox is not split by label; all the mail sits in one file. Each email does record its labels, though, and the viewer reads them to show Inbox, Sent and your own labels as folders.
No need to import into a mail program
The usual advice for opening MBOX is to install Thunderbird and find an import add-on. That is a lot of setup when you only want to check something or pull out a few emails.
Here the list appears as soon as you drop the file. There is no limit on the number of emails and the list is drawn in pieces, so a Takeout with tens of thousands of messages still scrolls. Messages sharing a subject can be grouped into conversations.
Common questions
How do I open my Gmail Takeout file?+
Unzip the Takeout download; the .mbox file is in the Mail folder. Drop that file on this page and your labels show up as folders.
The file is several GB. Is that OK?+
There is no limit on the number of emails. Very large files are more reliable in a desktop browser than on a phone.
Is my mail sent to a server?+
No. Reading and displaying the file both happen inside this browser.
Does .mbx work?+
Yes. .mbx is the same MBOX format and opens as is.
Subjects in other languages look garbled.+
Each email is read with the encoding it declares, including older ones such as Shift_JIS or EUC-KR. If something still looks wrong, choose an encoding from the encoding menu.
Can I save emails as separate files?+
Yes. Export an email as .eml or save it as PDF. Several emails can go into one merged PDF, or one PDF each in a ZIP.
What about Outlook Express (.dbx) or Lotus Notes (.nsf)?+
Those two formats cannot be opened. For Outlook files, see the "Open PST file" page.