Export from Outlook for Windows
- 1In classic Outlook, choose File → Open & Export → Import/Export.
- 2Pick “Export to a file”, then “Outlook Data File (.pst)”.
- 3Select the account (its top folder), tick “Include subfolders”, choose where to save the .pst and finish. A password is optional; leave it empty.
- 4Already have .pst archives (
archive.pst, old backups)? Use them as they are. Cached Exchange and Outlook.com.ostfiles often work too; if one is not read, export a .pst instead.
Import with the CLI
- 1Install the free CLI (see the CLI page), then run
vayamail import Archive.pst --to you@new-domain.com. - 2It shows the folder plan (Inbox, Sent Items → Sent, Deleted Items → Trash, your own folders) and asks before copying.
- 3Run the same command again if it stops: it continues where it left off and never copies a message twice.
What comes across
Every mail folder, read and unread, replied, forwarded and flagged, attachments (attached e-mails included) and the date each message was received. Received mail keeps its original headers. Calendars, contacts, tasks and notes stay in Outlook.
Outlook stores messages in its own format, so each one is rebuilt as a standard e-mail. The content is the same; the raw source can differ in small details from the original.
The web import does not read .pst files yet. Outlook for Mac exports .olm files, which VayaMail does not read either.
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