Google Takeout: How to View .MBOX Files in Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free program that you can use to view the .MBOX file downloaded via Google Takeout.

Note: In order to import your Swarthmore Gmail archive (.MBOX) into Local Folders within Thunderbird for searching and viewing purposes, you need to temporarily configure at least one account in Thunderbird.

The first time Thunderbird runs, you will be taken to the Account Setup tab.

Install & Set Up Thunderbird

Go to https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US and click the Free Download button.
Open the downloaded file and install Thunderbird.
Uncheck the “Use Thunderbird as my default mail application” box on the Summary section
Configure it with your personal email account

Install Thunderbird Import Tool

You will need to install a third-party import add-on within Thunderbird, to import the MBOX file.

Click the hamburger/grid icon in the top right corner and select Account Settings from the drop-down menu
Click Add-ons and Themes from the bottom of the left sidebar
Enter Import in the search field at the top and press ENTER.
Click the green Add to Thunderbird button next to ImportExportTools NG
Click Add and OK! in the dialog boxes that appear
Navigate back to the main Email tab (tab with your email address at the top)
Right-click Local Folders in the left sidebar and select New Folder
Enter Swarthmore Imported Email in the Name field and click Create Folder

Import Your .MBOX File(s)

You will now import the Swarthmore Google .MBOX from your Google Takeout download. It will be imported into a local Thunderbird folder, which is stored on your computer’s hard drive.

Note: Make sure to extract the contents of your Google Takeout .ZIP archive before proceeding. More information: (Windows / Mac)

Right-click the Swarthmore Imported Email folder you just created,
Hover over ImportExportTools NG in the drop-down menu
Select Import mbox file
Select Import all mbox files from directory from the dialog box that appear
Click OK
Navigate to the folder where your Google Takeout. MBOX file(s) is stored
Select the folder where all your Google Takeout MBOX files are stored
Click Open. The contents of your .MBOX files will be imported into Thunderbird.

It may take several minutes to import your .MBOX file(s). Import times depend on how much hard drive space your computer has, how large the file is, and how many files you’re importing at once. If you have more than one large .MBOX file to import, we recommend importing them one at a time.

After your file(s) has been imported, you can click the Swarthmore Imported Email folder to view all of the emails included in the file. The .MBOX file imports should include the name of the Swarthmore Google label followed by “.mbox” (e.g., Inbox.mbox, Drafts.mbox, etc.).

Remove Your Email Account

After importing your .MBOX file(s), you can proceed with removing the email account you used to set up Thunderbird.

Click the hamburger/grid icon in the top right corner and select Account Settings from the drop-down menu
Click Account Actions from the bottom of the left sidebar and select Remove Account from the drop-down menu
Check the “Remove message data” box and click Remove