Download from Google
- 1Go to takeout.google.com and click “Deselect all”.
- 2Tick Mail. “All Mail data included” lets you limit it to some labels.
- 3Click Next step, choose “Export once” and a .zip file, then Create export.
- 4Google emails you when it is ready (minutes to a day). Download and unzip it.
- 5The mail is in
Takeout/Mail/All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox.
Import
- 1Open Import files, press “Choose files” and pick the .mbox file.
- 2VayaMail reads the Gmail labels and puts each message in one folder: Spam, Trash, Drafts, Sent, Inbox, otherwise its first own label, otherwise Archive. Spam and Trash are unticked by default.
Good to know
IMAP has folders, not labels, so a message with several labels lands in one folder only. Unread and Starred carry over as read status and the star (\Flagged).
Large mailboxes: if Takeout delivers several archives, unzip them all and pick every .mbox file. Over 1 GB costs $5 per mailbox; the free CLI (vayamail import) has no limit and is faster for many GB.
Still have access to the Gmail account? A server-to-server migration with an app password avoids the download altogether. See the Gmail guide.
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