Free online EML to TXT converter

A mail system, script, support platform, or archive may require an email as editable plain text instead of a MIME message. Converting it to TXT produces a smaller, broadly readable copy for searching, sharing, or processing, while the original EML remains available for complete evidence.

What the EML format is

EML stores one email message, normally using Internet message and MIME conventions. It contains headers such as From, To, Date, and Subject, followed by one or more body parts and possibly encoded attachments.

Mail applications create EML files when messages are saved or dragged from a mailbox. Mozilla Thunderbird, Windows Mail, Apple Mail, some Outlook workflows, forensic software, and archival systems can open or export them. An EML file may also arrive as an email attachment or an exported support or legal record.

What the TXT format is

TXT is unformatted character data. It has no MIME boundaries, HTML styling, embedded-image structure, or usable attachment objects, so it opens in Notepad, TextEdit, command-line tools, spreadsheet importers, and text-processing scripts.

TXT is suitable for searchable, editable content and systems that cannot parse EML. It is not a complete replacement for the source message: a conversion may retain selected headers and readable body text while discarding HTML layout, metadata, and attachments.

How to convert EML to TXT

Use the converter on 101convert.com

For a one-off conversion without installing software, use the free EML-to-TXT converter on 101convert.com:

1. Open the EML-to-TXT converter on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the .eml file.
3. Start the conversion and download the resulting .txt file.
4. Open the TXT file and verify the sender, recipients, date, subject, and message body.

Do not upload confidential messages, personal data, legal evidence, or mail covered by an organizational retention policy unless the service is approved for that data.

Convert locally with Python

Python's standard email library can parse EML files for private or batch processing. Save the following as eml_to_txt.py:

from email import policy
from email.parser import BytesParser
from pathlib import Path
import sys

src = Path(sys.argv[1])
dst = src.with_suffix('.txt')
with src.open('rb') as file:
    msg = BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parse(file)

parts = [
    part.get_content()
    for part in msg.walk()
    if part.get_content_type() == 'text/plain' and not part.is_attachment()
]
body = '\n\n'.join(parts)
headers = [
    f"From: {msg.get('From', '')}",
    f"To: {msg.get('To', '')}",
    f"Date: {msg.get('Date', '')}",
    f"Subject: {msg.get('Subject', '')}",
]
dst.write_text('\n'.join(headers) + '\n\n' + body, encoding='utf-8')
print(dst)

Run it with python eml_to_txt.py message.eml. It extracts the plain-text MIME part, adds four common headers, writes UTF-8 text, and excludes attachments. An HTML-only message produces no body with this script; use the converter on 101convert.com or an HTML-to-text parser when the message has no text/plain part.

Copy the message from a mail application

Open the EML in a compatible mail application, select the displayed headers and body, copy them into a plain-text editor, and choose File → Save as. Select UTF-8 encoding and use a .txt extension. This method is convenient for a single message but depends on the application's rendering and may omit routing headers or hidden MIME data.

Quality and compatibility limits

• Multipart messages may contain both plain-text and HTML alternatives. The selected part determines the visible wording, links, line breaks, and signature.
• HTML-only content can lose tables, images, colors, columns, formatting, and layout during conversion.
• Attachments are not preserved as usable files in TXT. Keep the EML or extract the attachments separately when they are required.
• Character decoding can change accented characters or non-Latin scripts. Use UTF-8 and check the output in an editor that displays the intended encoding.
• Some converters omit message IDs, routing headers, MIME metadata, or timestamps. Retain the original EML for investigations, legal review, audits, or any situation requiring an exact message record.