Corbett
Corbett Google Workspace Backup Tool exports one G Suite user mailbox on a company domain to Windows. The user approves access on Google's OAuth consent screen, and Gmail labels become folders on disk. Output formats include PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV and TXT.
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Mail comes from Google IMAP servers to your PC. Corbett hosts and sees none of it.
Free demo, scanned clean on VirusTotal and a 30-day money-back window.
Lifetime licence from $99 Free trial saves 10 emails per folder
Per user coverage
A reclaimed licence deletes the mailbox with it. Google Workspace Backup Tool saves the mail side of a business account, one user at a time, and shows what lands on disk and what stays with other Workspace apps.
Comes across
7Labels backed up
7Saves as
8Not included
5A business account, not a personal Gmail address
Google Workspace mail sits on a custom domain such as name@yourcompany.com and is managed in the Admin console. A free name@gmail.com address is a personal account with its own page, the Gmail Backup Tool.
Related backup pages: Gmail backup tool, Office 365 backup tool and Webmail backup tool. Any other IMAP account is on the email backup software page.
Quick answer
Google Workspace Backup Tool is a Windows program that exports one G Suite user's mailbox on a company domain. The user approves access on Google's OAuth consent screen, and Gmail labels become folders on disk.
What it saves
One user mailbox with labels, attachments and full headers
Where it saves
A folder, an external disk, a network share or another tenant
Who uses it
Admins handling leavers, audits and mailbox handovers
Core features
Five screens of Google Workspace Backup Tool, OAuth consent first and saved file last.
Connect
Choose Google Workspace and imap.gmail.com fills in. A Google window asks the user for the work address and an approval on the OAuth consent screen.
Workspace ended app passwords for outside mail apps in May 2025, so there is no 16 character code and the software stores no password. IMAP must stay on for the organisation in the Admin console, and several users can be queued into a single session.
Label selection
Gmail keeps mail under labels instead of folders, so the software shows every label as a branch with a message count.
Export one project label alone or the entire account with label names kept as folder names. All Mail is hidden so a message with several labels is not saved twice.
Message preview
A message opens in the preview pane with four analysis tabs next to it: content, message header, properties, and hex with raw message.
When a mailbox is copied for an e-discovery request, the header and raw views show which server a message passed through.
Selective backup
Filters apply before the copy starts. The common Workspace task is a departing employee mailbox up to the last day, or one client thread across a single financial year.
Set From and To dates, search sender, recipient, subject or body, keep messages with Drive links or files, set a size limit and skip spam or repeated messages.
Output options
Choose where the export lands: a folder, an external disk, a network share or straight into another tenant. File names follow a pattern, so thousands of messages stay searchable.
Output can be PST for Outlook, MBOX for Thunderbird, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT. Moving the user mail into Microsoft 365, a second Workspace tenant or another IMAP host is covered by the email migration tool.
Flexible use
A leaver, a date range or a tenant move: Google Workspace Backup Tool handles all three. Test your job in free demo before you buy.
Back up a departing user
Save the mailbox to PST or PDF before the licence is reclaimed. Labels stay as folders and the copy opens without a Google login.
Back up a date range or client thread
Limit the copy to a quarter, a financial year or one sender. Filters apply before anything is saved.
Move a user to another tenant
Send the saved mail on to Microsoft 365, a second Workspace tenant or another IMAP host with matching folders.
Before connecting
A managed Google account has two switches an ordinary Gmail address does not. Three things to line up before the first backup.
User side
The user allows access
Only the account holder can sign in and approve access on the Google consent screen. An administrator cannot approve it for someone else. If the domain limits third party apps, an admin marks the software as trusted under Security then API controls first.
Admin side
IMAP has to be on for the domain
In the Admin console under Apps then Gmail then End User Access, IMAP has to be enabled for the organisation unit the user sits in. If it is off, the sign-in will not connect. An administrator sets it once.
One at a time
No domain-wide admin mode
The tool copies one signed-in mailbox at a time and does not use a service account to sweep the domain. For every mailbox without every user present, Google Vault and the admin Data Export are the route.
If the sign-in is refused, IMAP is off for the organisation unit or a domain rule blocks third party apps. Both are fixed in the Admin console. Vault users can follow Google Vault emails to hard drive.
Working process
Follow four steps to get one Workspace mailbox onto your drive. Practice on one user in free demo.
Sign the user in through Google
Install Google Workspace Backup Tool, choose Google Workspace and let imap.gmail.com fill in. The user enters the work address and approves access on the OAuth consent screen.
Select labels and filters
Every Gmail label shows as a branch with a message count. Tick the labels, then limit by date, sender, subject, attachment or size.
Select format and location
Choose PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT, then point the software at a folder, an external disk or a network share.
Start Workspace backup
Press Export and track every label on the progress screen. A log and a CSV report list all saved mail.
Want screenshots for every click? Follow IMAP backup guide.
Working process
Prefer screenshots? IMAP backup guide shows the full flow in minutes.
Advanced options
Small options that save hours on big Workspace mailboxes.
OAuth sign-in
No app password and no stored password
Labels as folders
Nested labels keep their structure
All Mail skipped
No message saved twice
No size limit
Any mailbox size or message count
Date range filter
Save mail from one quarter or one year
Sender and body search
Filters cover sender, recipient, subject and body
Attachment filter
Keep messages with Drive links or files
Size limit
Leave the heaviest mail out
Split PST by size
Cut large PST output into smaller files
Resume on drop
Continue from the last message
Live progress
Watch every label as it saves
Log and CSV report
Proof of what was saved
Choose output
Eight output formats are on offer. Match the format to what you plan to do with the saved mail.
| Format | Best for | Opens in |
|---|---|---|
| PST | Outlook users and mail that may return to an account | Microsoft Outlook |
| MBOX | Moving mail to a free email client | Thunderbird and Apple Mail |
| EML | One file per email, easy to search | Windows Mail and most email clients |
| MSG | Single messages kept as Outlook items | Microsoft Outlook |
| Audits and legal files that open anywhere | Any PDF viewer | |
| HTML | Reading mail with no email client | Any web browser |
| CSV | Lists of senders, dates and subjects | Excel and Google Sheets |
| TXT | Plain text archives of old messages | Any text editor |
Free demo
Test the Workspace Backup on One User
Install the demo, approve one user on the Google consent screen, tick a label and select a format. Nothing is exported until the backup starts.
Download free demoTry before you buy
Free demo signs a user in, loads every label and unlocks the full preview and all filters. Only saving is capped.
| Feature | Free demo | Full version |
|---|---|---|
| Google sign-in and label list | Yes | Yes |
| Preview, filter and analysis views | All available | All available |
| Emails saved per folder | 10 | Unlimited |
| Mailbox size limit | Saving stops at 10 per folder | None |
| Price | Free | $99 one time |
| Machines per licence | Not applicable | Up to 5 |
| Money back window | Not applicable | 30 days |
Use cases
Anyone who handles Workspace mailboxes when staff leave or an audit lands.
IT admins on offboarding
Save a leaver mailbox before the licence is reclaimed. One licence installs on up to 5 machines.
Compliance and legal teams
Hand an auditor a self-contained PST or PDF with headers intact instead of a login.
Accountants and small firms
Keep a clean copy of one mailbox that opens without a Google login, on any plan.
Why Corbett
One licence
Covers Google Workspace and 209+ other providers
No subscription
Lifetime price from $99
Read-only access
Nothing is deleted in Google
Direct connection
No Corbett server in between
Eight formats
Plus transfer to another tenant
No size limit
Any mailbox size or message count
Free demo
10 emails saved per folder
30 day money back
Refund window on every licence
Before purchase
An administrator on the right plan can export mailboxes through Google Vault at no extra cost. That is the free route for an entire domain. The table marks where the two part ways.
| Task | Google Vault export | Google Workspace Backup Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included on eligible plans | $99 one time |
| Every mailbox in the domain at once | Built for that | One signed-in user at a time |
| Who can start it | An administrator with the Vault privilege | Anyone the user signs in for |
| Where the export lands | A Cloud Storage bucket that expires | Stored locally with no expiry date |
| Output format | MBOX and PST, no document formats | PST, PDF and six other formats |
| Date, sender or subject filter | A search query, but no message preview | Filtered and previewed first |
| Plan needed | Business Plus, Enterprise or Education editions | Any Workspace plan with IMAP on |
Rows tinted green are where Google Vault wins.
For an entire domain on a plan with Google Vault and an admin on hand, Vault costs nothing extra. For a single user, a document format, a previewed slice or a plan without Vault, Google Workspace Backup Tool makes more sense. Saved files convert later with the email converter tool.
Global recognition
Users rate Corbett backup software 4.6 out of 5 across 683 reviews, and software directories list it.
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Specifications
Download details
System
Supported editions
Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8 and 7, in 32 and 64 bit. Windows Server 2025 down to 2008. Outlook is not required.
No macOS or Linux build.
Corbett has built Windows email utilities since 2020. Support for Google Workspace Email Backup Software is handled by the team that wrote it.
Full specification
Complete source and output list for Corbett Google Workspace Backup Tool.
Goes in
Workspace mailbox sources
Comes out
Backup destinations
To convert saved files later, use email converter tool or single-format PST File Converter Tool, MBOX File Converter and EML Converter Tool. To move a user to a new provider, use email migration tool. To open a saved file without exporting, use free email viewer software.
User testimonials
Drawn from 683 reviews of the Corbett wizard behind Google Workspace Backup Tool.
Pulled from 683 reviews on rating sites and customer emails. Below are three, quoted exactly.
HR gave me two days notice that a manager was leaving. Had the user make an app password, pulled the whole mailbox to a PST with the labels intact, then reclaimed the licence. The copy is filed away in case anything comes up.
Was worried Gmail labels would turn into a mess in Outlook. They mapped straight to folders with nested ones included and All Mail did not duplicate everything. Clean PST our accountant could open without a Google login.
We are on a plan without Vault, so a whole-domain export was not an option. For one mailbox this was far quicker anyway. App password, tick the labels, choose PDF, done. No console wrangling for a single user.
Best practice
Saved mail is only useful if it opens later. These four habits protect your G Suite archive.
Save before the licence goes
A reclaimed licence deletes the mailbox. Back up the user first, check the files, then remove the licence.
Open a sample file
After saving, open a handful of messages. Confirm labels came across as folders and attachments open.
Keep PST and PDF
Repeat the backup with a second format. A PST for returning mail and a PDF for audits is a common pair.
Name backups by user and date
Include the address and date in every backup folder name, and keep a second copy off the office network.
Common questions
Google sign-in, admin switches and where the backup tool draws its line.
No. The tool signs in one user at a time through that user's own Google sign-in. It does not use a service account or domain-wide delegation to sweep the organisation. For every mailbox without the users present, Google Vault or the admin Data Export is the route.
No. Workspace stopped accepting app passwords for third party mail software in May 2025. The user signs in through the standard Google window and allows access on the consent screen, so no password is typed into the software.
The user signs in and allows access. If the domain restricts third party apps, an administrator first marks the software as trusted under Security, API controls. An administrator cannot sign in for another person.
IMAP is off for the user's organisation unit, or the domain blocks third party apps. Enable IMAP in the Admin console under Apps, Gmail, End User Access. Then trust the software under Security, API controls. Neither is set in the software.
Yes. Every label becomes a folder in the saved copy with its name kept. Nested labels keep their structure, and All Mail is skipped so a message with several labels is not saved more than once.
No. Only Gmail is backed up. Google Drive, Shared drives, Google Chat and Calendar live in separate Workspace services and need their own export.
Only while it can still sign in. A suspended account cannot complete Google sign-in, so back the mailbox up before the person leaves or the licence is removed. After the licence is reclaimed the mailbox is gone, and Vault is the only route left if a hold was in place.
Go with PST if the mail may return to Outlook or another account. Go with PDF for a copy meant for reading, an audit or a legal file that opens anywhere. Repeating the backup with a second format is common for a compliance copy.
No. The paid edition sets no ceiling on the amount of mail copied. A large mailbox is slower because Google limits download speed on a single connection, but the backup finishes and resumes from the last message if your connection drops.
No. The office PC connects to Google over IMAP and saves the files locally. Corbett never receives company mail.
No. It works on Windows 7 to 11 and Windows Server 2008 to 2025 only.
The demo signs a user in through Google, loads every label and unlocks the full preview and all filters. The backup stops at 10 emails per folder, enough to open the output and confirm labels came across as folders.
PST, MBOX, EML and MSG open in mail clients. PDF, HTML, CSV and TXT serve documents and lists.
Yes. Filters cover From and To dates, sender, recipient, subject and body, attachments and a size limit before the backup starts.
Yes. Queue several users into one session. Every user still signs in through Google on their own.
Yes, but a personal address has its own page, the Gmail Backup Tool.
Yes. Transfer a user to Microsoft 365, a second Workspace tenant or another IMAP host with the email migration tool.
No. It only reads the mailbox. Clean the account yourself once the archive is checked.
Yes. Attachments, email addresses and phone numbers can be extracted without saving full messages.
Yes. Open it read-only in the free email viewer software.
Yes. Windows 11 and 10 are supported along with all older versions.
One payment of $99 buys a lifetime licence for up to 5 machines, with a 30 day refund window.
Step by step
Help for the admin and user tasks around a Workspace mailbox export.
Pulling Workspace mail out
More walkthroughs
Sibling provider pages: Yahoo backup tool, Outlook.com backup tool, Hotmail backup tool and iCloud backup tool. The complete provider list sits on the email backup software page, and a lost mailbox goes through email recovery software.
Get started
Approve one user through Google and export a few messages per folder. A lifetime licence costs $99, with a full refund possible for 30 days.
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87.4 MB · Windows 11 to 7 and Windows Server 2025 to 2008 · 30 day money back