How to open an EML file

To open an EML file, drop it onto this page: the message is rendered in your browser with headers, body, inline images and attachments, and you can save it as PDF. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. Below are the other ways to open .eml files in Outlook, Windows, macOS, Gmail and on a phone, and what to do when a file will not open.

Open an EML file in your browser, no install

1. Drag the .eml file into the box above, or click the box and pick the file.
2. Read the message: From, To, Cc, Date, Subject and Message-ID at the top, then the body as the sender formatted it, with inline images resolved.
3. Click an attachment to download it, or take all of them as a ZIP.
4. Press Save as PDF if you need a copy; the browser's print dialog opens and Save as PDF is the destination.

The file is read by JavaScript in this tab with the File API; there is no upload endpoint on this site. Once the page has loaded it keeps working with the internet disconnected. It runs in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, and on iPhone and Android for single EML files. Apple Mail's .emlx files are read the same way.

Open EML files without Outlook on Windows and Mac

Every desktop system ships with something that reads EML:

• Windows 10 and 11: double-click the file. The Mail app (or the Outlook app that replaced it) opens it as a message. If the file is associated with the wrong program, right-click, Open with, and pick a mail app.
• macOS: double-click and Apple Mail shows it in a message window, no account setup required.
• Any system: Thunderbird is a free program that opens EML files through File, Open, Saved Message, or by drag and drop.
• Text editor: an EML is plain text, so Notepad or TextEdit shows the headers and body. Attachments appear as Base64 blocks you cannot use directly, which is where a renderer like the one above helps.

Background on the format, its headers and MIME parts: what is an EML file.

How to open an EML file in Outlook

Classic Outlook for Windows opens EML files even though it saves MSG:

1. Double-click the EML file; if Outlook is the default mail app, it opens in a message window.
2. Otherwise drag the EML into any folder in Outlook's folder pane; Outlook imports it as a message you can reply to or forward.
3. In the new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, EML files that arrive as attachments open with a click; for a file on disk, use the browser route above.

Outlook for Mac also opens EML files, since EML is the format it produces when you drag a message to the desktop. If you want the opposite, an EML out of Outlook, see how to save an Outlook email as a file.

Open an EML attachment in Gmail or on a phone

Gmail does not open EML files from your computer, but when an EML arrives as an attachment Gmail displays it as a nested message you can click and read, attachments included. To keep it as a file, hover over the attachment and use Download, then drop it here. Details: how to open an EML file in Gmail.

On an iPhone, the Mail app opens EML attachments natively: tap and read. On Android, mail apps vary; the reliable path is to save the file, open this page in Chrome, pick the file, and read it. Save as PDF on a phone goes through the share or print sheet.

Are EML files safe to open? Editing, extracting and deleting

The EML itself is text and cannot run code. The risk sits in what it carries: an attachment can be an executable or a macro document, and an HTML body can link to a phishing page. Opening the file here renders the body sanitized and lists attachments without executing them, which is a safe way to inspect an unexpected EML before you decide anything. Treat the attachments inside exactly like any download from that sender.

Editing: an EML can be changed in a text editor, but editing headers or body breaks the message as a record, and SaveMail does not edit messages. Extracting: to get the attachments out, open the file above and download them, or use the ZIP button. Deleting: an EML is an ordinary file; delete it from the folder where it sits. If Outlook imported it, delete the message in Outlook as well.

Cannot open an EML file? Checks that usually fix it

• The extension is wrong: a file named .eml.txt or with no extension will not open on double-click. Rename it or drop it here; the parser reads the content, not the name.
• The file is empty or truncated: a download that stopped early produces a few KB with no body. Download it again.
• The message is encrypted (S/MIME or PGP): it shows as encrypted and needs the recipient's key in a mail client.
• It is actually an MSG file renamed to EML, or an MBOX: both have their own pages, open an MSG file and open an MBOX file, or just drop it here; all three are recognized.

When the file opens and you need a record of it, Save as PDF gives a text-based PDF with the header block; attachments go in the same folder as separate files.

Frequently asked questions