Guides · 6 articles
Archiving and storage
What archive means in Gmail and Outlook, and how to free up space in a full mailbox without losing mail.
What Does Archive Mean in Email, and Is It a Backup?
In email, archive usually means moving a message out of your Inbox while keeping it in your account.
Gmail Storage Full? How to Free Up Space Without Losing Emails
A full Gmail account can stop sending and receiving mail, and messages sent to you can bounce back. First check which Google service is using the space.
Does Gmail Delete Old Emails?
Gmail does not normally delete messages from your inbox or All Mail because of their age. Gmail keeps deleted messages in Trash for 30 days, then removes…
How to Choose Email Archiving Software
If you want to keep a searchable copy of email outside Gmail, Outlook, or another mail service, choose software based on how you need to use and protect…
How to Read Gmail Offline
Before going offline, save messages to your device so you can read Gmail without an internet connection.
An Open Source Email Archive on Your Own Disk: mailmd
If you want a copy of your email on your own computer, mailmd saves it as local files. This free, open-source command-line tool writes each message to its…
Free and open source
Try mailmd
mailmd is a free command-line tool that copies your email into Markdown files on your computer, one file per message. It works with any IMAP mailbox, and with Gmail and Outlook through their own APIs.
Install
$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vincentsch/mailmd/main/install.sh | sh
Set it up with your coding agent
Set up mailmd so you can read my email. Use https://github.com/vincentsch/mailmd: read its AGENTS.md and follow the steps. Connect my mailbox and run the first sync. Then show me where the files are.