I'm new to this and not an expert in Linux (I used to be somewhat knowledgeable, but that was a while ago). I'm trying to import my old Gmail messages into Thunderbird while using Chrome OS Linux. I've completed the Google Takeout and ended up with a zip file that's about 800 MB. Inside the MAIL folder, I see an .mbox file labeled 'All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox' and a 'User settings' folder.
My issue is with the import process: I went to Thunderbird's Local folders, used the Import tool, and tried to import from a backed-up file. However, only 9 messages from the year 2026 seem to have imported successfully, which is puzzling. I'm not sure if I should be importing the entire Google Takeout zip file or if I should unzip it first and just import the .mbox file. I've also installed the mutt tool, and I can confirm that the mbox file contains all my messages. What should I do next to get these emails into my Local folders? Can anyone explain this in simple terms?
2 Answers
If you’re having trouble with Thunderbird's import tool, it might help to check if you can open the .mbox file directly with thunderbird. Sometimes just dragging and dropping the .mbox file into the Local folders can work without the import tool. Give that a shot and see how it goes!
You should just import the .mbox file directly. The import tool in Thunderbird is somewhat limited and might be complicating things. Simply unzip the Google Takeout zip file, locate the 'All mail Including Spam and Trash.mbox' file, and use the Import tool to import that specific .mbox file. That should pull in all your messages properly! Good luck!
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