Google Takeout Gmail: Export Your Mail as MBOX
Google Takeout exports your Gmail as MBOX files: every message, with its attachments, stored one after another in a plain-text mailbox file. Export all your mail and you get a single file called All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox. Export chosen labels and you get one MBOX file per label. To read the messages, you open the file in a desktop mail client such as Thunderbird or Apple Mail.
This page covers the export step by step, what an MBOX file is and how to open one, how big and how slow a Gmail export gets, and how to keep a file holding years of email safe.
How to export Gmail with Google Takeout
- Open Takeout. Go to takeout.google.com and sign in with your Gmail account.
- Click Deselect all, then tick Mail. Leaving the other products out keeps the export smaller and faster.
- Choose all mail or some labels. Everything is included by default. To narrow it, click All Mail data included and pick the labels you want, for example only Sent, or a label you created.
- Click Next step and pick the delivery. A download link by email, or straight to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box.
- Choose ZIP and a file size. Takeout splits the export at this size, 2 GB by default. A larger size means fewer parts to download.
- Click Create export and wait for the email from Google.
The same steps apply to every product. Our Google Takeout instructions explain each setting in more detail.
What is an MBOX file?
MBOX is one of the oldest mailbox formats, and most desktop mail clients can read it. A single MBOX file holds a whole mailbox: each message is written out in full, headers and body and attachments, and the next one starts right after it. Attachments are not saved as separate files. They are encoded as text inside the message they belong to.
In the archive, Gmail sits under Takeout / Mail. Because the file is plain text you can open it in a text editor, but a mailbox of any size is unreadable that way: thousands of messages, raw headers and long blocks of encoded attachments. A mail client turns it back into a normal inbox. If you are not sure what else is in the archive, see how to open Google Takeout files.
How to open a Gmail MBOX file
- Thunderbird (Windows, Mac, Linux). Free. Install the ImportExportTools NG add-on, create a local folder, then import the MBOX file into it. The messages appear as a normal mail folder you can search and read offline.
- Apple Mail (Mac). Choose File, then Import Mailboxes, select files in mbox format, and point it to your MBOX file. The mail appears in an imported mailbox in the sidebar.
- Outlook. Outlook does not open MBOX files directly. The usual route is to import the MBOX into Thunderbird first, or to use a converter that produces a PST file.
If the export came in several parts, download all of them before opening anything. One label's MBOX can be split across two archives, and opening only the first part gives you only part of that mailbox.
Sample data · your real report will look like this
Search Activity
Free previewYouTube Activity
Free previewGmail
Free previewAd Profile
Every other section is a record of something you did. This one is what Google concluded about you from it.
Google Photos
Location History
Chrome Browsing
Android Activity
How big is a Gmail export, and how long does it take?
A Gmail export ranges from a few hundred megabytes to tens of gigabytes. Attachments make up most of that, so ten years of photos and PDFs sent by email weigh far more than ten years of text. A small mailbox is often ready in under an hour. A large one with years of attachments can take Google most of a day to build.
For the comparison with other products, see how long Google Takeout takes and Google Takeout file size. If you mainly want your photos, they have their own export: Google Takeout Photos.
See your whole export at a glance
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What TakeoutReader shows about your Gmail
To be precise about it: TakeoutReader counts the emails in your export. It reads the MBOX files in your browser and reports the total, next to everything else in the archive, such as your searches, your YouTube history, your Chrome browsing and your photo library.
It does not list senders, subjects or attachments, and it is not a mail reader. To read, search or move your messages, open the MBOX in a mail client as described above. TakeoutReader is for the overview: what Google holds about you across all its products, in one report. For the wider picture, see what does Google know about me.
Keep your mail export safe
A Gmail export is years of private correspondence in a single file: bank notices, password resets, contracts, family messages. Keep it on a device only you use, preferably in an encrypted folder, and delete it when you no longer need it. Do not upload it to an online MBOX viewer you know nothing about, since that hands every message to a stranger's server. TakeoutReader reads the archive on your device and never uploads it. More in is Google Takeout safe.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export my Gmail with Google Takeout?
Go to takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, tick Mail, and click Create export. By default every message is included. To export only some labels, click All Mail data included under Mail and choose the labels you want. Google emails you a download link when the archive is ready.
What format does Google Takeout use for Gmail?
MBOX. It is a plain-text format that stores every message of a mailbox one after another in a single file, attachments included. When you export all your mail, you get one file called All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox. Exporting chosen labels gives you one MBOX file per label.
How do I open a Gmail MBOX file?
Use a desktop mail client. In Thunderbird, install the ImportExportTools NG add-on and import the MBOX file into a local folder. On a Mac, Apple Mail can import it through File, Import Mailboxes, choosing files in mbox format. Outlook does not open MBOX files on its own and needs a conversion step first.
Does Google Takeout include Gmail attachments?
Yes. Attachments are stored inside the MBOX file with the message they belong to, encoded as text. They are not saved as separate files, so you see them once you open the MBOX in a mail client.
Why is my Gmail export split into several files?
Takeout splits the export at the archive size you chose, 2 GB by default. A large mailbox can arrive as several numbered ZIP files, and one MBOX can be spread across them. Download every part. Choosing a 50 GB size when you create the export means fewer pieces.
What does TakeoutReader show about my Gmail?
The total number of emails in your export, counted from the MBOX files in your browser, next to the rest of your Google data. It does not list senders, subjects or attachments. To read individual messages, open the MBOX in a mail client such as Thunderbird.
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