Want to make sure you have a copy of all the messages in your Gmail account? Migrating to a different email service? Find out here how to export and download emails from Gmail in bulk (by label or as one big email and attachment archive).
First, When Penguins Sneeze
Watching a penguin for any length of time means watching a penguin sneeze. This is not surprising, of course, with penguins living mostly down south in the cold… and salty waters of Antarctica (where swimming is easy).
When it dives, a penguin naturally ingests seawater aplenty. To keep that salty water from accumulating in the blood and wrecking cells, an organ that sits right behind the penguin’s eyes filters out what is too much.
Back on land, the penguin sneezes to get rid of the salty liquid.
Now, if sneezing is an efficient way to excrete stuff, how about making Gmail sneeze?
(When penguins do not sneeze, their beaks drip with the organ-filtered seawater, by the by.)
How to Export Gmail Emails (Download All Mail)
Downloading just one email? Save Gmail as EML or as PDF.
Download All Gmail Emails
To download and export a complete archive of your emails from Gmail:
- Click your initials or avatar near Gmail’s top right corner.
- Select Manage your Google Account from the sheet that has appeared.
Shortcut: You can also open Google Account directly; do sign into your Gmail account if you are prompted. - Go to the Data & privacy category.
- Now select Download your data under Download or delete your data.
- Click Deselect all under Select data to include.
- Now check Mail.
More than Gmail: You can, of course, download other data from your Google account in addition to Gmail emails at the same time; select all the services to export.
- Typically, leave All mail data included active to export all Gmail email in bulk.
Individual folders: You can also export only select labels. (See below.)
Gmail settings: In addition to emails, Gmail will export account settings in JSON format if you export all mail data, a JSON file is a structured text file that includes keyed settings. - Click Next step.
Customize How to Download Your Exported Gmail Emails
- Choose how you want the MBOX files to be compressed under File type & size.
Which format to pick: Choose .zip for most needs; .tgz files work well for large archives using Linux or Unix. - Pick how you want to download your Gmail emails under Delivery method.
Where to export: You can choose between adding the generated files to an online drive (such as Google Drive or OneDrive), from which you can then download them, and receiving a download link directly from Gmail—by email. Keep in mind that email archives can be large and will count against the online drive’s storage quota.
When to download: Choose an online drive if you are creating a backup and Send download link via email otherwise. You will have 7 days to download the files via the emailed link. - If you are creating a backup, Gmail can help you do it with some periodicity: choose Export every 2 months for 1 year under Frequency, otherwise pick Export once.
- Select how big individual exported files can maximally, also under File type & size.
Maximum file size: Gmail will split larger files into pieces that do not exceed the maximum size; such multiple files can be a nuisance and are slightly less efficient, but a smaller archive size is the much safer choice, especially if you export your Gmail emails to an online drive.
How big: Choose 1, 2 or 4 GB; for ZIP files in general, 1 GB is safest.
- Click Create export.
Online drives: If you export your email data to an online drive, click Link account and create export instead and authenticate Google to access your drive if prompted. - Exercise your patience.
How long: Creating an archive of Gmail emails and attachments usually takes several hours at least and often runs for days.
Accessing or Downloading the Gmail Emails Archive
- Follow the Manage archives link in the email you have received if you chose Send download link via email.
Shortcut: Follow the Download archive link in the email to open the Manage archives page and have the download start automatically.
Check the status: You can always open the downloads page directly and check for the status of your archive or download (again) as long as the Gmail email archive is available.
Don’s wait here: Do not wait on the Almost there… page after you have created the archive. Its status will not change even if your Gmail emails are already available for download. - Click Show exports for the desired email archive.
Important: You have one week to download archives before they are deleted.
- Click Download for the desired Gmail email archive (or its individual parts) or Open in ___ if you had Gmail export the archive to an online drive.
Download Specific Gmail Labels in Bulk
To create an archive and download Gmail emails of just one label (or a select number of labels) instead of all your messages:
- Open the Download your data page for your Gmail account.
- Make sure Mail is enabled.
- Select All mail data included.
- Now turn off Include all messages in Mail.
- Checked the labels and Gmail folders you want to export.
- Click OK.
- Now click Next and continue with customizing the download. (See above.)
How to Export Gmail Emails (Download All Mail): FAQ
In what format will Gmail export the emails?
Messages will be exported so you can download all Gmail emails in a single MBOX archive (possibly split into multiple, smaller files).
MBOX files contain the raw sources of messages in a plain text format easily imported into email programs and service or even deciphered in any text editor.
Can I keep my labels or folders after downloading?
If you choose All mail, all your emails (including those in the Trash and Spam labels) will be in the archive. While a field notes which labels were applied to each message in Gmail, you may lose that data if you import the messages into a different email program or service.
To preserve Gmail labels as folders, you can export labels individually, download the labels’ MBOX files individually, and import these into distinct folders.
Is there an alternative to exporting emails from Gmail as MBOX files?
Yes.
You can set up the Gmail account in an email program using POP3 or through IMAP to download messages in bulk.
If you use POP:
- Make sure to disable POP access and re-enable Gmail POP3 access with Enable POP for all mail chosen.
- Remember that downloading all mail can take days or weeks.
If you use IMAP:
- Make sure all desired labels (possibly including All mail) are enabled for IMAP access and the number of messages per folder not restricted.
- Copy all emails to a local account in the email account; messages only on IMAP will disappear together with the Gmail account.
(How to export and download Gmail emails in bulk tested in a desktop browser; updated February 2024)