textrawl
byJeff Green

MBOX Conversion

Convert MBOX email archives to searchable markdown

Convert MBOX email archives from Gmail, Thunderbird, or other email clients to searchable markdown files.

Usage

pnpm convert -- mbox <file> [options]

Options

OptionDefaultDescription
-o, --output <dir>./converted/emailsOutput directory
-v, --verbosefalseEnable verbose logging
--dry-runfalsePreview without writing
-t, --tags <tags...>["email"]Additional tags
--skip-attachmentsfalseSkip attachment extraction

Example

# Convert Gmail export
pnpm convert -- mbox ~/Downloads/All\ mail.mbox -o ./emails
 
# With custom tags
pnpm convert -- mbox archive.mbox -t work important
 
# Dry run to preview
pnpm convert -- mbox archive.mbox --dry-run

Output Format

Each email becomes a markdown file:

---
title: "Re: Project Update"
source_type: email
source_hash: "abc123..."
tags:
  - email
  - imported
created_at: "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
converted_at: "2024-03-20T14:22:00Z"
metadata:
  from: "alice@example.com"
  to: "bob@example.com"
  cc: "team@example.com"
  subject: "Re: Project Update"
  message_id: "<unique-id@mail.example.com>"
  in_reply_to: "<parent-id@mail.example.com>"
---
 
# Re: Project Update
 
Email body content here...

Supported Sources

  • Gmail: Google Takeout MBOX exports
  • Thunderbird: Profile folder backups
  • Apple Mail: Exported mailboxes
  • Outlook: Exported MBOX files

Next Steps

On this page