Export Thunderbird Contacts to CSV File

You need your Thunderbird contacts in a CSV file for Excel, Outlook or Gmail and its Export option hides well. Mozilla's own forum shows users who find a blank file, only column headers or no Export menu at all. Below are three ways to get a CSV file, with fixes for common snags.

How to save contacts as CSV from the Thunderbird Address Book?

Open Address Book, select a single address book and use its Export option. Choose CSV as file type. It costs nothing, is built in and takes under a minute.

1. Open Thunderbird and select Address Book.
2. Select a single address book in left pane, like Personal Address Book. Do not select All Address Books.
3. Open three-dot menu beside that address book or right-click it and choose Export.
4. In Save dialog, set file type to CSV. LDIF and vCard are also offered.
5. Name your file and select Save.
6. Open your CSV in Excel and check names and email columns.

In older Thunderbird versions, menu path is Tools, then Export and a user in a Mozilla support thread got that fix marked as solved. For Thunderbird 128, an accepted answer in a Mozilla support question tells users to select address book, click its three-dot menu and choose a format like CSV or LDIF. A Thunderbird Team member wrote on Mozilla Connect in December 2024 that Export still exists, behind a right-click on your address book.

Catch: you export one address book at a time and CSV columns follow Thunderbird's layout, which other applications may not match.

How to move Thunderbird contacts to Outlook or Gmail?

Import your Thunderbird contacts CSV into Google Contacts, then export a fresh CSV in Outlook or Google layout. That fixes imports that show names only.

1. Save your Thunderbird contacts as CSV first, as shown above.
2. Sign in at contacts.google.com and select Import.
3. Select your Thunderbird CSV file and confirm import.
4. Check that names, emails and phone numbers landed in right fields.
5. Select Export and choose Outlook CSV or Google CSV.
6. Import that file into Outlook or retain it as your CSV copy.

A user in that same Mozilla thread, Buckwheat, reported that a Thunderbird CSV imported into Outlook with names only so they planned to go through Google Contacts. That answerer also suggested matching column layout to a CSV exported from Outlook, which cuts field mapping. We have not tested Google Contacts steps on a Thunderbird file so test with a few contacts first. Our guide to Export Gmail contacts includes Google side in detail and you can see how to Move Thunderbird contacts to iPhone if a phone is your target.

Catch: it adds a step and Google CSV columns differ from Thunderbird columns.

Steps to export Thunderbird mail to CSV with software

1. Install it on a Windows PC and open it with Run as administrator.
2. Let it find your Thunderbird profile or open a copied profile folder by hand.
3. Tick accounts and folders you want. Preview messages before saving.
4. Choose CSV as output format or use Extract option for email addresses and phone numbers.
5. Select a destination folder and start export.
6. Open your output folder and check files.

Thunderbird contacts live in Address Book, a different store from your mail folders and its product page does not list Address Book as an input. If contacts are your goal, use built-in steps above. For a list of senders and recipients across all mail, use Corbett Email Address Extractor, whose page includes desktop client profiles, Thunderbird included. See also how to Extract email addresses from Thunderbird.

Which way to export Thunderbird contacts suits you?

Use built-in Export for Address Book contacts. Add Google Contacts if Outlook rejects columns. Use software when you need addresses taken from mail.

Moving mail between clients too? See how to Migrate Thunderbird to Outlook.

Why does a Thunderbird CSV export fail?

The Export option is missing

Enable Directory Pane under View, then Layout, if your left pane is hidden. A Mozilla volunteer named a hidden Directory Pane as cause in two separate threads and users confirmed that fix.

Thunderbird contacts CSV file is blank or shows only column headings

You probably selected All Address Books, which does not export. Select a single address book. In one 2019 thread, a user copied contacts into a new address book and exported from there.

Outlook imports Thunderbird contacts as names only

Thunderbird's columns differ from Outlook's. Route your file through Google Contacts or reshape columns by hand to match an Outlook CSV.

You need Thunderbird contacts as LDIF or vCard, not CSV

Switch the file type in your Save dialog. Users of Thunderbird 128 reported that they had to switch type selection to get LDIF. Calendars export as ICS but address books do not.

Export saves a huge file

Users on Mozilla Connect described a 4 GB file from backup export. Export from a single address book menu instead of a full profile backup.

What to do after the export?

Open your file in Excel and check name, email and phone columns. Retain it private, because it holds real addresses. Remove duplicates, then save a copy in a safe folder. Back up your Thunderbird mail too, with Thunderbird Backup Tool, since an address book export does not save mail.

Questions About Thunderbird CSV Export