Thunderbird to Text: 3 Ways to Export Emails as TXT
Written by Jared Young, an engineering graduate in Computer Science who specializes in data recovery and email backup at Corbett Software.
Need your Thunderbird emails as plain TXT files you can open anywhere, and the Save As menu is taking them one email at a time? There are faster ways. Two of them are free, and the third handles entire mailboxes, including profiles from computers that no longer start.
Summary
To convert Thunderbird to text, save individual emails through the Save As menu, export whole folders free with the ImportExportTools NG add on or convert the complete mailbox in one run with the Corbett MBOX Converter. The first two routes are built in or free. The third handles full accounts and rescued profiles.
Why Export Emails from Thunderbird to Text?
A TXT file is a plain text document that stores words alone, with no images, attachments or formatting. That sounds limited, and it is, but the limitation is the point. A text file opens on every device and in every program ever made, it stays readable decades from now and it is tiny. You can search a folder of TXT files with nothing but the Windows search box. People export emails from Thunderbird to text for archiving, for pasting message content into reports and tickets and for keeping a future proof copy of mail that matters.
Where Thunderbird Keeps Your Mail
Here is the detail most guides skip, and it makes everything below easier to understand. Thunderbird stores every mail folder as a single MBOX file inside your profile folder, normally under %appdata%\Thunderbird\Profiles on Windows, in the Mail and ImapMail directories. Your Inbox is one MBOX file, Sent is another and so on.
This matters for two reasons. Converting Thunderbird to text is really an MBOX to TXT job under the hood. And because the mail lives in ordinary files on disk, it can be converted even when Thunderbird itself will not open, as long as the profile folder survives.
Method 1: Save a Single Thunderbird Email as a Text File
For one email, Thunderbird has this built in.
- Open Thunderbird and go to the folder that holds the email.
- Open the email and click the More button in the message header.
- Choose Save As and pick where to save the file.
Step 3: The More menu open with Save As highlighted.
- In the save dialog, set the file type to Text files so the message saves with a .txt extension.
- Click Save and the email is on disk as a plain text file.
Quick and dependable for a handful of messages. Past that, you want the next method.
Method 2: Export a Whole Folder with ImportExportTools NG
Thunderbird has no built in bulk export, but the free ImportExportTools NG add on from the official Thunderbird add ons site fills the gap well.
- Install the add on through the Add ons Manager in Thunderbird, then restart if asked.
- Right click the folder you want to export.
- Choose ImportExportTools NG, then Export all messages in the folder and pick Plain text format.
Step 3: The right click menu with the plain text export option.
- Choose a destination folder and let the export run.
Every message in that folder lands on disk as text, free of charge. For one or two folders on a working Thunderbird install, this is a genuinely good answer.
Where the Free Methods Stop Working
One trade off, stated plainly. The free route works folder by folder inside a running Thunderbird. If you have a whole account with dozens of folders, you will repeat the export dozens of times, and if Thunderbird will not start at all, the add on cannot help you, because it only runs inside Thunderbird. There is also a thing to know about the format itself rather than the method. Plain text holds text only, so attachments and inline images do not travel into a TXT file with any method. If you need those, save them separately or pick a richer format.
“Many of the Thunderbird conversions I handle start with a profile folder rescued from a machine that no longer boots. People assume the mail died with the install. It did not. Every folder is sitting right there as an MBOX file, and that file converts fine.”
Jared Young · Data Recovery and Backup Specialist, Corbett Software
Convert Thunderbird to Text in Bulk (Expert Way)
The Corbett MBOX Converter works at the account level instead of the folder level. It auto detects your configured Thunderbird profile, loads every folder in one pass and can convert MBOX to text file output in a single run, with the folder hierarchy reflected in the saved files. Date and sender filters let you export only the mail you need, it reads MBOX files directly from a rescued profile folder when Thunderbird is gone, and a free demo edition is available to evaluate the result first. It runs on all editions of Windows.
Steps to Convert Thunderbird Email to Text File
- Install the software, then click Open, choose Email Accounts and select Add Account.
Step 1: The Open menu with Email Accounts and Add Account selected.
- Enter your Thunderbird account details and click Add.
Step 2: Account details entered and ready to add.
- Wait for the mailbox to load, then check your emails in the preview panel.
Step 3: Thunderbird emails loaded in the preview panel.
- Click the Export option and select Text from the list.
Step 4: The Export list with the Text option selected.
- Browse to a destination folder and click Save to start the conversion.
Step 5: Choosing the save location for the exported text files.
The conversion runs locally and copies your mail rather than moving it, so the Thunderbird mailbox stays exactly as it was.
Manual Export vs the Converter
| Free Methods | Corbett MBOX Converter | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope per run | One email or one folder | The complete account in one pass |
| Requirement | Thunderbird must run | Works from MBOX files even without Thunderbird |
| Filtering | None, the whole folder exports | Date and sender filters for selective export |
| Cost | Free | Free demo, paid license for full use |
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People Also Ask
Q2: Where does Thunderbird store my emails?
A2: In MBOX files inside your profile folder, normally under %appdata%\Thunderbird\Profiles on Windows. Each mail folder, such as Inbox or Sent, is one MBOX file in the Mail or ImapMail directory.
Q3: Will attachments be included in the TXT file?
A3: No. Plain text holds text only, so attachments and inline images are left out by every method. Save attachments separately or choose a richer export format if you need them kept with the message.
Q4: Can I convert Thunderbird emails if Thunderbird will not open?
A4: Yes. Your mail lives in MBOX files inside the profile folder, so copy that folder from the old system and point an MBOX converter at the files directly. The broken installation does not matter.
Q5: What is the difference between MBOX and TXT?
A5: MBOX is a container that holds an entire mail folder with full message headers, readable by email clients. TXT is the plain readable text of messages, open in any program but without the technical structure email clients need.
Conclusion
So the right method follows the size of the job. To convert Thunderbird to text for a few messages, Save As does it. For a folder, ImportExportTools NG does it free. For a complete account, or a profile rescued from a dead machine, the Corbett MBOX Converter turns every folder into text files in one run. How much of your mailbox needs to make the trip?
