Wondering what lurks behind the scenes and screens of your emails? Want to uncover hidden details or retrace a message’s path? Find out here how to show all email headers for a message in Apple Mail for Mac ⤓.
On This Page
How to View All Email Headers in Apple Mail on a Mac
In the Message Window
Time needed: 2 minutes
To view full header lines for an email in macOS Mail on a Mac:
- Open the email message whose headers you want to examine.
Here or there: You can open the email in the Apple Mail for Mac preview pane or in its own window.
- Select View | Message | All Headers from the menu.
Default headers: With all header lines visible, the menu item becomes Default Headers.
Apple Mail keyboard shortcut: You can switch between showing full and restricted default headers by pressing Command Shift H. - Find the expanded set of email header lines underneath the default header area and atop the message text.
Gray. The header lines will display in gray.
Almost all: Note that header lines already displayed as default headers (sender, recipient, date, subject,…) are not repeated; to get or copy all header lines, you can use the email source (see below).
Their word: Apple includes information on viewing header lines in the macOS User Guide.
Received:lines received?Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.
All Header Lines in Email Source Format with Mac Mail
To access the full header as it appears in the email source with Apple Mail for macOS:
- Open the message for which you want to access email headers in Mail.
- Select View | Raw Source from the menu.
Mail keyboard shortcut: You can press Command Option U to open the message source. - Find the full headers in their original order at the top of the Source of <Email Subject> window.
How far: The headers end at the first fully empty line from the top.
What’s behind the connection to the email server: How to Log Traffic in Apple Mail for Mac
Show and hide: How to Hide the Email Preview in Mac Mail
View All Email Headers in Apple Mail on a Mac: FAQ
Can I open the headers for multiple messages at once?
No.
Mail on a Mac lets you open the full header and source views only for a single email at a time.
Can I set full headers to be the default?
No.
Apple Mail will not always revert back to standard header display as soon as you switch to or open a different message — or the same email again.
(Tested with macOS Tahoe 26.0–26.5, Sequoia 15.3–15.5, Sonoma 14.3–14.6 and Ventura 13.4; first published August 2023, last updated June 2026)