Mail export gives you a copy of your messages as MBOX files, one per folder, in a single ZIP. Thunderbird, Apple Mail and other mail programs can import MBOX. It is on the web only.
Start an export#
- Open Settings > Export mail.
- Under Folders, keep All folders or tick the folders you want. Each folder shows its message count.
- Optionally set First day and Last day. They match the day each message was received, in UTC. Leave both empty to export everything.
- Choose Start export.
You can leave the page. A small export starts straight away. A larger one is queued and starts within a minute. The page shows progress and a Cancel export button. You can run one export at a time and request up to five an hour.
Download#
When the export finishes, choose Download ZIP under Your exports. The link works for 24 hours and only while you are signed in to the same account. After 24 hours the file is deleted. Choose Delete file to remove it sooner. To get a new link after it expires, run the export again.
SipherMail records each export request and each download in your security activity. See Sessions and devices.
What is in the ZIP#
- One
.mboxfile for each folder. Nested folders are named like "Parent - Child". - Each message is the original message as the server stores it, in
mboxrdformat. Mail programs remove the extra>that this format adds to lines starting with "From ". - A
manifest.jsonfile listing each folder’s message count, size and SHA-256 checksum, and how many messages could not be read.
Contacts, settings and rules are not in it. For those, use Data Export under Settings > Profile. See Account settings.
Limits and errors#
An export has a ceiling on total size, message count and running time. If you go over, the export fails and the message tells you to choose fewer folders or a shorter date range. A message the mail server fails to send is skipped and counted in the manifest.
If the export cannot sign in to your mailbox in the background, sign in again and request it again.