// Writing
Notes on mbox, mail archives, and the tools we use.
Reference guides for opening, converting, and archiving email — from Gmail Takeout exports to Thunderbird profiles to forensic mbox files.
- April 15, 2026 how-to
Graduating soon? How to back up your university Gmail with Google Takeout
Universities delete graduated students' Google Workspace accounts on a schedule. Here's how to export your Gmail as an .mbox file — plus Drive, Photos, and Calendar — before access is revoked.
- April 15, 2026 conversion
How to convert an mbox file to .eml (and why you probably shouldn't)
An mbox stores all messages in one file; EML stores each message as a separate file. Here's how to split an mbox into EMLs — and when the conversion is unnecessary.
- April 15, 2026 conversion
How to convert Gmail Takeout mbox to PST for Outlook
Outlook on Windows doesn't read mbox natively. The two reliable paths are Thunderbird as a bridge, or a direct mbox-to-PST converter. Here's the trade-offs of each.
- April 15, 2026 how-to
How to open a Thunderbird mbox file on a modern Mac or PC
Thunderbird stores every local folder as an mbox file on disk. Here's where to find them, how to copy them out safely, and how to open them — even if Thunderbird is broken or uninstalled.
- April 15, 2026 glossary
What is an mbox file? The plain-text email archive format, explained
An mbox file stores many email messages in one plain-text file, separated by 'From ' lines. It's defined by RFC 4155 and used by Gmail Takeout, Thunderbird, macOS Mail, and most Unix mail systems.