Articles and practical guides
Connect your accounts, keep a local copy and find your way around MailVault. Guides, answers and articles in one place.
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| Topic | What you will learn |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | What MailVault is, which email providers it works with, what it runs on, and how it keeps your mail private. |
| Storage and Your Vault | Where MailVault keeps your mail, how Maildir and JMAP storage differ, and how to move or convert the vault. |
| Email Providers | Connect Gmail, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Proton Mail and JMAP servers such as Fastmail, and send from an alias. |
| Backup and Restore | How MailVault archives mail, what archiving then deleting does to the server copy, when automatic backups run, and how to export and re-import your vault. |
| Explorer and Insights | How MailVault Explorer groups a mailbox by date, sender or conversation, and what the Insights sender map, timeline and activity views show — both free, both built from mail already on your disk. |
| Scheduled Send | How MailVault Scheduled Send works: pick an exact date, time and time zone, let MailVault suggest the recipient’s zone, and manage scheduled emails. What is Premium and what stays free. |
| Free and Premium | What every MailVault user gets for free, and what MailVault Premium adds on top. |
| Your questions | Answers about free use, lifetime purchases and the future of your archive. |
| Troubleshooting | Fixes for the problems people hit most: the Gmail daily bandwidth cap, spellcheck underlining nothing on Linux, and a folder added on the server not showing up yet. |
Quick answers
- What is MailVault?
- Which email providers does MailVault work with?
- What are the system requirements?
- Can I change how the open email is highlighted?
- Can I change how MailVault looks and lays out?
- Is my data secure?
- Where is the address book?
- Where are my emails stored?
- How much of my mail stays on this computer?
- What are .eml files and Maildir? Why does it matter?
- Can I access my emails offline?
- How are attachments handled?
- Can I store my mail somewhere other than the default application folder?
- What is the external backup location (second copy)?
- Can I change the vault storage format?
- Does MailVault work with Gmail and Outlook?
- How do I connect my Outlook.com account?
- How do I use MailVault with Proton Mail?
- Can I send from a different address than the one I log in with?
- How do I send from an alias?
- How do I connect Fastmail or another JMAP account?
- How do I add an iCloud or Apple Account email address?
- How does MailVault back up emails?
- What happens when I archive an email?
- What happens when I archive and delete from server?
- What happens if I delete emails from the server?
- How do I archive and delete selected emails from the server?
- How do I archive and delete a whole account from Settings?
- Step by step: archive and delete from the server, with screenshots
- How does backup and restore work?
- Can I choose the hours automatic backups run?
- What is Explorer?
- Can I see everything one person ever sent me?
- What does “Date → Conversation” do?
- Does search still work in Explorer?
- What is Insights?
- What do the Timeline and Activity views show?
- Does Insights send my email anywhere?
- What is Scheduled Send?
- Can I schedule an email in someone else’s time zone?
- How does MailVault know the recipient’s time zone?
- How do I change, reschedule or cancel a scheduled email?
- Does MailVault have to be open for a scheduled email to go out?
- What happens to scheduled emails if my subscription ends?
- Is MailVault free?
- Can MailVault block email tracking pixels?
- Is Scheduled Send free?
- Can I use MailVault without a subscription?
- Do you offer a lifetime or one-time purchase?
- What happens to my emails if MailVault stops development?
- What are Gmail's bandwidth limits, and what happens when a backup hits them?
- Why is spellcheck not underlining anything on Linux?
- I added a folder on the server — how soon does MailVault show it?
- MailVault says "No internet connection", but my internet works. Why?
Practical guides
| Topic | What you will learn |
|---|---|
| How to Add Your Apple Account (iCloud Mail) to MailVault | Add an @icloud.com, @me.com or @mac.com address to MailVault. Create an app-specific password in your Apple Account, paste it in, and fix the common sign-in errors. |
| How to Archive IMAP Emails Locally on Mac, Windows & Linux | Learn how to archive your IMAP emails to local storage on macOS, Windows and Linux. Keep emails forever as .eml files, free up server space, and access everything offline. |
| How to back up Outlook.com and Hotmail email to your Mac | Four ways to back up Outlook.com and Hotmail email to a Mac: Outlook for Mac, Apple Mail, Thunderbird and MailVault. What each one saves and how to check it. |
| How to Back Up Your Email Before Closing an Account | Closing an email account, leaving a job, or shutting down a business? Here's a step-by-step checklist to back up every email before the account and its data disappear for good. |
| How to Back Up Email on Linux as EML | Build a local email backup on Linux: connect your mailbox, archive to EML, verify attachments offline and keep a second copy on another drive. |
| How to Back Up Gmail to EML Files | Save one Gmail message as EML, or archive a whole mailbox locally. Compare Gmail downloads, Google Takeout and MailVault, then verify your backup. |
| The Best Email Archiver for Mac, Picked by What You Need | The best email archiver for Mac depends on your mail. Seven macOS tools compared by format, search, sources, price, open source and Apple Silicon support. |
| How to Delete Thousands of Old Emails Safely | Facing a mailbox with tens of thousands of old emails? Here's a safe process for bulk-deleting old mail without losing anything you might need later. |
| How to Download All Your Emails on Mac | Download a complete local email archive on Mac using Apple Mail or MailVault. Check folders, save attachments and verify the backup offline. |
| How to Download All Your Gmail Emails | Two real ways to download every email in your Gmail account: Google Takeout's single .mbox export, or an IMAP archive tool that saves individual, searchable .eml files. Here's how each works. |
| Email Archiving for Freelancers and Small Businesses | Client emails are often your only record of scope, approvals, and payment terms. Here's how freelancers and small businesses can build a permanent, searchable local archive of client email. |
| How to Archive Your Email on a Mac and Keep It for Good | Email archiving for Mac explained: archive vs backup vs sync, your options on macOS, which format to keep, and how to build and check a local archive. |
| How to Export iCloud Mail to Your Computer | iCloud Mail doesn't have a built-in export button. Here's how to actually get a local, searchable copy of your @icloud.com or @me.com mail using IMAP and an app-specific password. |
| How to Export Outlook Email to EML | Export an Outlook message as EML, understand PST and MSG differences, and archive Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 mail locally with a verified backup. |
| How to Free Up Email Storage Without Losing Old Emails | Mailbox full? Archive emails locally with MailVault, then safely delete from the server. Free up Gmail, Outlook, or IMAP storage without losing anything. |
| How to free up space in Hotmail and Outlook.com without losing old mail | Free up space in Hotmail and Outlook.com step by step: empty Deleted Items, find the biggest emails, keep a local copy of old mail, then delete it online. |
| Gmail Storage Full? Here's How to Fix It | Gmail says your storage is full and new mail is bouncing. Here's what actually frees up space, what doesn't, and how to archive old email locally instead of paying Google every month. |
| IMAP Backup Tool: What to Look For | An honest checklist for evaluating any IMAP email backup tool — file format, folder handling, OAuth support, and what happens to your archive if the tool disappears. |
| How to Keep Emails After Deleting Them From the Server | Delete emails from your server without losing them. MailVault archives emails locally as .eml files before deletion — searchable, offline, forever yours. |
| How to Leave Gmail Without Losing Your Emails | Switching away from Gmail? Here's how to move to a new email provider while keeping a complete, searchable local copy of everything Gmail currently holds. |
| A Local Email Archive for Linux: What to Check | Choose a Linux email archive by file format, offline access, provider support and restore options. Includes a practical MailVault trial checklist. |
| A MailStore Alternative for Mac: MailVault | No MailStore for Mac? MailVault is a free app for macOS, Windows and Linux that archives Gmail, Outlook and IMAP mail locally as plain .eml files. |
| MailStore Alternatives: Seven Options, Sorted by Use Case | MailStore alternatives by use case: personal archivers for Mac, Linux and Windows, open-source archive servers, and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tools. |
| MailStore Server Alternatives: Pick by Who the Archive Is For | MailStore Server alternatives for companies (Piler, Mail-Archiver, Open Archiver, Purview, Google Vault), and when one person needs only a desktop archive. |
| Outlook.com / Hotmail Mailbox Full? Here's the Fix | Outlook.com or Hotmail warning you're out of space? Here's how to check what's using it, clear it out safely, and archive old email locally instead of paying for more storage. |
| Outlook storage full: find out what is full, then fix it | Outlook says your storage is full? Find out which limit is full, run the 5-minute checks, then choose: clean up, keep old mail on your computer, or buy storage. |
| What Is an Email Vault? Three Meanings, and How to Build Your Own | An email vault can mean a local archive you own, a hosted encrypted mailbox or a compliance archive. How they differ, and how to build your own for free. |
| How to Back Up Yahoo Mail to Your Computer | Back up Yahoo Mail using an app password and IMAP. Save a local archive with MailVault and keep a second copy on another drive. |
Articles
| Topic | What you will learn |
|---|---|
| Apple Mail Review: The Mac Default vs MailVault for Keeping Your Email | Apple Mail vs MailVault: compare the built-in Mac client, mailbox exports, local archives, AI writing, and cross-platform access. |
| Best Email Archive App for Mac: How to Choose | Choose an email archive app for Mac by checking offline access, portable files, attachment preservation and backup options. See where MailVault fits. |
| Best Email Backup Software for Mac: Choose by Recovery | Choose email backup software for Mac by testing message coverage, independent copies and recovery. Compare manual exports, Mac backups and MailVault workflows. |
| Canary Mail Review: Hybrid AI Privacy vs MailVault’s On-Device Options | Canary Mail vs MailVault: compare local inbox intelligence, cloud AI drafting, encryption plans, portable archives, and on-device summaries. |
| Cloud Email Backup and Local Archives: Who Can Access the Copy? | Compare cloud email backups and local archives by encryption, key ownership, access controls and recovery. Local files also need disk protection and a separate backup. |
| Gmail’s AI Search Is Expanding. Should Your Email Search Run in the Cloud or on Your Computer? | Compare Gmail’s expanding AI search with local email search: convenience, original messages, offline access, and control over your archive. |
| Does Archiving Gmail Free Up Space? | Gmail Archive clears your inbox, not your storage. Learn the difference between archiving in Gmail and keeping an independent copy before deleting mail. |
| eM Client Review: An All-in-One Workspace vs MailVault’s Portable Archive | eM Client vs MailVault: compare email and calendar tools, free-license limits, backups, local archives, and pricing choices. |
| Email Insights in MailVault: Who Fills Your Inbox, and When | Who sends you the most email, and when does it pile up? MailVault Insights answers both from headers on your computer. How to read it and act on it. |
| Your Email Provider Is Not a Backup | Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo were built to deliver mail, not to preserve it. Lockouts, accidental deletion, and policy changes can erase years of email in minutes. Here's what an actual backup looks like. |
| Email Templates for Client Replies: Three Reusable Examples | Save reusable email templates for client replies in MailVault. Try three examples, insert them into a draft, and personalize the details before sending. |
| How to Find Emails You Haven’t Replied To | Find emails you have not replied to with MailVault’s Needs reply view. Understand its 30-day scope, check reply flags, and keep a separate follow-up list. |
| GDPR Fines Hit €6.11 Billion — Is "Keep Everything Forever" a Compliance Risk? | GDPR enforcement has crossed €6.11 billion across 2,685 cases, and regulators increasingly treat indefinite email retention as a violation on its own, not just a side issue. What the storage-limitation principle actually requires, and how to keep your own archive without breaking it. |
| Gmail with Gemini Review: Built-In Cloud AI vs MailVault’s Local Control | Gmail with Gemini vs MailVault: compare inbox AI, plan eligibility, Google integration, local message ownership, and on-device email assistance. |
| Adding Gmail OAuth2: One Flow, Two Providers | How we added Gmail OAuth2 to MailVault by making the existing Microsoft OAuth2 flow provider-agnostic. |
| The Gmail Storage Squeeze — And Why You Should Own a Copy | Google is testing 5GB of free storage for new accounts instead of 15GB, and deletes accounts inactive for two years. Here's how MailVault keeps a permanent local copy of your Gmail on your own disk. |
| Gmail Is Ending Third-Party “Send As” and POP Fetching: Your Options Before January 2027 | What Gmail’s January 2027 changes mean for non-Google accounts, existing messages, and managing multiple addresses in a desktop client. |
| How to Check Your Email Backup Before You Need It | Check your email backup by opening saved messages, attachments and a separate recovery copy. Learn what an offline test proves and what it cannot prove. |
| How to Search Thousands of Emails Fast | Find old invoices, attachments and conversations with a repeatable search workflow. Use distinctive terms, sender and date filters, and a complete local archive. |
| How We Test MailVault: 600+ Tests, Real Emails, Real Servers | A look inside MailVault's testing strategy: 600+ automated tests across four layers, 500 seeded emails, stress tests with real IMAP servers, and end-to-end scenarios in the actual desktop app. |
| How to Leave an Email Provider Without Losing Years of Messages | A practical email migration checklist: inventory folders, save messages and attachments, verify your archive, and test the new account before closing the old one. |
| Local Email Storage vs Cloud Email: Which Copy Do You Control? | Compare local email storage and cloud mail by access, privacy, recovery and maintenance. Learn how a MailVault archive can complement your existing provider. |
| Mailbird Review: A Unified Desktop Inbox vs MailVault’s Email Ownership | Mailbird vs MailVault: compare unified inboxes, integrations, free-account limits, app backups, and portable local email storage. |
| MailVault 2.4.0: A Stability Release | Behind MailVault 2.4.0: fixing the Outlook wrong-email bug, killing cross-account bleed, taming the sandboxed daemon, and making releases safe to roll back. |
| How Much Memory Does MailVault Use on Windows? We Measured It | We ran the same 10,000-message memory test on Windows 11 that we ran on the Mac: about 210 MB at launch, a short peak near 365 MB while a large mailbox opens, and about 23 MB for the background helper. Every process, charted. |
| Microsoft’s 100GB Business Mailboxes: What Changed in Storage and Pricing | Microsoft 365 Business mailboxes are jumping from 50GB to 100GB between July and September 2026, alongside a plan-specific pricing update. A bigger box doesn't change who's holding your data — here's why the quota was never the real problem. |
| Notion Mail Is Closing: What to Save, and What MailVault Can Preserve | Notion announced a September 22, 2026 shutdown. This historical transition guide explains what stayed in Gmail and what a local archive can preserve. |
| Offline Email Search for Mac: Find Mail Without a Connection | Prepare a searchable local email archive on your Mac. Learn what works offline, what must be downloaded first, and how to check MailVault before you travel. |
| How to Organize Invoice Emails Automatically | Organize invoice emails with tags and a tested Auto Tags rule. Preview matches, sort older mail, and build a monthly view without moving messages. |
| The Outlook OAuth Odyssey: IMAP Is Broken, Long Live Graph | How a Microsoft server-side IMAP regression forced us to register our own Azure AD app, build a full Graph API transport layer in Rust, and debug seven cascading failures along the way. |
| Outlook Review: Microsoft 365 Convenience vs MailVault’s Local Ownership | Outlook vs MailVault: compare Microsoft 365 workflows, desktop export, offline mail, pricing models, and local email ownership. |
| Phishing Has Moved Beyond Suspicious Links: Calendar Invites, QR Codes, and Attached Emails | Recognize phishing in calendar invitations, QR codes, and attached messages, with practical checks before signing in or approving a payment. |
| Private Email Archive for Mac: Keep a Copy You Control | Build a private email archive on your Mac with local message files, on-device search and a separate backup. Understand what local storage does and does not protect. |
| Refactoring MailVault: From Monolith to Modules | How we refactored MailVault's codebase — splitting a 4,300-line store into focused modules, redesigning email loading as a two-stream architecture, and planning a 5-phase decomposition without breaking a single feature. |
| The macOS Sandbox Signing Saga (or Why v1.4.0 Through v1.4.5 Exist) | How macOS code signing and App Sandbox nearly broke MailVault, and the six patch releases it took to fix it. |
| Searching 50,000 Emails in Milliseconds: How MailVault’s Local Index Works | We timed MailVault search on a 50,000-message mailbox: 7 to 14 milliseconds a query. The results, the SQLite technology behind them, and how Premium adds attachment and Vision image search. |
| Shortwave Review: AI Email Search vs MailVault’s Local Archive | Shortwave vs MailVault: compare AI search, Gmail-based account support, cloud processing, search-history limits, and offline originals. |
| Spark AI Review: Inbox Focus vs MailVault’s Local AI and Backups | Spark vs MailVault: compare smart inbox organization, AI assistant account support, subscription quotas, local processing, and backups. |
| Superhuman Mail Review: Cloud AI Productivity vs MailVault’s Local AI | Superhuman Mail vs MailVault: compare AI inbox workflows, Gmail/Outlook support, subscription costs, local AI, and email ownership. |
| Thunderbird Review: A Free Email Client, Compared with MailVault | Thunderbird vs MailVault: compare free desktop email, offline access, profile backups, portable archives, and everyday usability. |
| Which Personal Emails Should You Keep? | Decide which personal emails are worth keeping, from meaningful conversations to useful attachments, and start a small archive you can find your way around. |
See it in MailVault
Video transcript
Select Back up all accounts in Backup settings. Watch backup progress until the run finishes.