Free online EMLX to EML converter

Apple Mail creates EMLX files, but many mail clients and archive tools accept EML instead. Converting the message produces a standalone file that can be imported, shared, inspected, or archived outside Apple Mail.

What the EMLX format is

EMLX is Apple Mail’s format for storing individual email messages on macOS. You may find .emlx files in Apple Mail data folders or in an extracted Mail archive.

A standard EMLX file begins with a decimal byte-count line, followed by the message source in RFC 5322-compatible format with MIME encoding. That source contains headers such as From, To, Date, and Subject, along with the body and MIME parts. Apple Mail can store some attachments in related .emlxpart files, so an EMLX file copied without its associated data may not contain every attachment.

What the EML format is

EML is a file containing one complete email message, normally as RFC 5322/MIME source. Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, eM Client, and many other mail, archiving, and investigation tools can open or import EML files, although the exact import workflow varies by program.

EML preserves standard headers, plain-text and HTML bodies, inline images, and MIME attachments when those parts are present in the source. It is not inherently compressed or encrypted and is not tied to one operating system. Because it normally omits Apple Mail’s EMLX byte-count prefix, other programs can recognize it directly.

Convert EMLX to EML on 101convert.com

1. Open the EMLX-to-EML converter on 101convert.com.
2. Select the .emlx file from your computer.
3. Start the conversion and download the resulting .eml file.
4. Open or import the EML file in the target mail program.

This requires no software installation. Do not upload confidential, regulated, or legally sensitive mail unless your privacy and data-handling requirements allow online processing. If the message depends on separate .emlxpart files, use a local method that can access the complete Apple Mail data or export the message from Apple Mail.

Convert a standard EMLX file locally

For a normal EMLX file, removing the initial byte-count line exposes the EML-compatible message source. The following Python script does that without decoding or re-encoding the email:

from pathlib import Path

source = Path("message.emlx")
data = source.read_bytes()
line_end = data.find(b"\n")

if line_end < 0 or not data[:line_end].strip().isdigit():
    raise ValueError("The file does not have a standard EMLX byte-count prefix")

source.with_suffix(".eml").write_bytes(data[line_end + 1:])

Save the script as convert_emlx.py beside message.emlx, then run:

python3 convert_emlx.py

The script creates message.eml. On macOS, you can also select the message in Apple Mail and drag it to Finder to create a standalone message file; the available save and export commands vary by macOS and Mail version.

Quality and compatibility limits

• Renaming .emlx to .eml is insufficient when the EMLX byte-count line is present; some EML readers will treat that line as invalid message content.
• The script is appropriate only when the file has a numeric first line followed directly by RFC 5322/MIME data. If that structure is absent, use Apple Mail or a converter that understands the specific file.
• MIME attachments embedded in the EMLX source normally remain in the converted EML. Attachments stored in separate .emlxpart files require exporting the message with access to those files.
• Conversion does not repair malformed MIME boundaries, incorrect character sets, missing sidecar data, encrypted content, or damaged message files. Keep the original and check the sender, date, body, inline images, and attachments after conversion.