MBOX import
Import one or many .mbox files from Google Takeout, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or any client that exports the standard format.
Your Gmail archive,
fully yours.
Mailbox Client is a native macOS app to import, read and search your MBOX archives. Local-first. Private by design. On-device AI when your Mac supports it.
Overview
Everything you need for your archived mail
From Google Takeout to a fast, private desktop mailbox in seconds. Nine focused capabilities, all local-first.
Full-text search
Tokenized inverted index over subject, sender, recipients, body, labels and attachment names. Updated incrementally with every import.
Libraries & labels
Each MBOX becomes a named library. Gmail labels are preserved and turned into filters in the sidebar.
Text and HTML rendering
Switch between plain text and rendered HTML on every message. Inline cid: images are resolved from attachments.
Attachments
List every attachment per message with file name, size and MIME type. Save any of them to disk with the standard macOS save panel.
Apple Intelligence
On Apple silicon and macOS 15.4+, summarize emails, detect category and sentiment, and get reply suggestions — all on device.
Spotlight integration
Optionally index your archive into Core Spotlight to search messages from ⌘ Space without opening the app.
iCloud sync (optional)
Opt in to sync libraries and messages between Macs via your private CloudKit database. Off by default.
Privacy by default
No analytics, no ads, no tracking. Your messages stay on your Mac unless you explicitly enable iCloud sync.
On-device AI
Smarter mail without sending it to the cloud.
On Apple silicon Macs running macOS 15.4 or newer, Mailbox Client taps into Apple's Foundation Models framework for fast, private inference.
- Summarize long messages in a couple of sentences.
- Auto-categorize into Work, Personal, Finance, Shopping, Travel, Social, Newsletter, Spam, Other.
- Detect tone: positive, neutral, negative.
- Get three reply drafts — professional, casual, brief.
100%
On device
0
Bytes uploaded
9
Categories
3
Reply tones
Privacy
Your mail never leaves your Mac.
Mailbox Client is offline-first. No analytics. No third-party SDKs. No telemetry pings. Outbound connections only happen when you explicitly opt in to iCloud sync, or when you choose the HTML view of a message with remote images.
- All data lives in
~/Library/Application Support/and a local SwiftData store. - iCloud sync uses your private CloudKit database — encrypted by iCloud and only readable by you.
- Stay in Text view to avoid every outbound request.
- Wipe iCloud data while keeping a local copy whenever you want.
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Trackers
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Ads
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3rd-party services
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Languages
Get started
Ready in three minutes
Export from Gmail, drop the file in Mailbox Client, start reading.
1
Export from Gmail
Open Google Takeout, deselect everything, pick Mail, choose the MBOX format and download the archive.
2
Install Mailbox Client
Get the app from the Mac App Store, or build it from source with Xcode 16+ for development.
3
Import & explore
Click Import MBOX… in the toolbar, pick one or more files, and your messages are searchable instantly.