How to Convert MBOX to Text Format – Simple & Free Methods

Email archiving is necessary in many businesses where detailed records matter. These records should be retained for several years, depending on the legal or historical needs. The email messages are archived in MBOX format, as it is widely adopted. But, in the long term, it becomes unsupported because it requires specific email clients or system libraries to read them. Therefore, to ensure the accessibility of the archived emails, businesses choose to convert MBOX to text format. Text files can be opened on any platform. Continue reading this blog to understand both manual methods and an expert-recommended Cigati MBOX Converter. But before that, let’s first understand what are MBOX files and Text files.

MBOX (Mailbox) is an email storage file format that stores multiple email messages in a single file. It is used for email backup and archiving. A Text file is a plain text file that stores information in a readable, editable, and accessible form. Users often convert an MBOX file to a plain text file for easy access.

Reasons to Convert MBOX to Plain Text

Before we start with the details of this blog, let’s first understand why converting a MBOX file to TXT is beneficial. Review the points below for better understanding:

• MBOX files need specific email clients to open, whereas text files can be opened on any text editor. 
• A plain text file is easy to search, extract, and present in legal or audit matters. 
• A Data Analyst converts MBOX files to plain text to easily search, analyze, or process the data.
• A text file makes the data more portable and usable on other systems because it is independent of any software.
• A plain text file can be easily shared and eliminates the need of requiring any other software to open it. 

How Do I Convert MBOX to Text Format?

The user can complete this conversion either manually or by using an expert-recommended conversion tool. While the manual process is effective, it can be complex and inefficient. Alternatively, using a conversion tool makes the entire process faster and error-free. Let’s go through both methods in detail.

Using Thunderbird

This method is best for those who are handling small and medium-sized files. It is an easy-to-execute method for non-technical users. It also preserves formatting, and therefore, the content will be saved in a structured format.

The following are the steps to convert an MBOX file to a plain text file:

1. Download and launch Mozilla Thunderbird.
2. Go to Tools > Add-ons. Search ImportExportTools NG and install it.
3. Now, restart Thunderbird.
4. Navigate to Local Folders, right-click on it.
5. Choose ImportExportTools NG > Import mbox file. Browse your MBOX file that you want to import.
6. After that, right-click on the MBOX file that you want to import.
7. Select ImportExportTools NG > Export all messages in the folder > Plain text format.

Limitations: Thunderbird might not perform well with the large MBOX files. Attachments are stored as links and not the actual files. Export them separately if needed. 

Using Command-Line Tools (Unix/Linux/Mac)

This is an ideal and useful process for batch conversion of emails into a plain text format. It is also useful when the user wants to backup or archive each email as a separate text file.

Use the step-by-step process to successfully make this conversion:

1. First, open the Command Line Terminal.
2. Different ways to open the CMD on different systems:

• Linux: Press Ctrl+Alt+T
• MacOS: Press Command+Space > Type “Terminal” > Enter

3. Now, run this command to go to the directory containing the MBOX file:

cd /path/to/your/mboxfile

4. Run this command to split your MBOX file into individual email files:

csplit -k your_mboxfile ‘/^From /’ ‘{*}’

5. Convert emails into a plain text file by running this command:

html2text xx00_cleaned.txt > xx00_cleaned_plain.txt

6. To batch convert emails into a plain text file, run these commands:

This command is to install html2text:

For Linux users: sudo apt install html2text

For macOS users: brew install html2text

            This command is to batch convert the emails to a plain text file:

for file in xx*_cleaned.txt; do  html2text “$file” > “${file%.txt}_plain.txt”done

Limitations: This method will convert the raw email content. The user needs to manually filter out any unnecessary headers, etc. It will also not preserve the rich-text formatting.

Expert-Recommended Way to Convert MBOX to Text File

The MBOX to TXT Converter Tool is a reliable solution to convert MBOX to TXT, HTML, PDF, etc. The user can also export their MBOX files to email clients like Thunderbird, Outlook, etc. This tool allows bulk conversions, removes duplicates, and provides a date-based filtering option. Users can also preview the messages before exporting them and can choose whether to save the attachments or not. 

Quick and simple steps to convert MBOX to Plain Text:

1. Download, install, and open the tool.
2. Click on Continue > Add File.
3. Locate the desired MBOX file and open it to add it.
4. Expand the tree hierarchical structure, preview the content, and click Next.
5. Under Saves/Backup/Migrate As, choose File Formats and select TXT.
6. Apply the additional features if required.
7. Choose the destination folder to save the file.
8. At last, click on Convert to initiate the process.

Conclusion

Converting an MBOX file to TXT is crucial to represent the content in a structured, more readable format. Through this blog, we have explored both the manual and an expert-recommended approach. The manual approach involves technical manual steps and takes time, and a smart professional MBOX to Text Converter Tool simplifies the process to convert MBOX to Text format. With the professional tool, the user can convert MBOX files quickly, more precisely, and error-free. It is useful for both individuals and businesses.

You May Also Read: Convert MBOX to DOC

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