How to open an EML file

An EML file is one email saved as a file. You'll usually get one when someone forwards a message as an attachment, when you download an email from Gmail or Outlook on the web, or when you're sent a collection of emails for a legal, HR or accounting matter. This guide covers every reliable way to open one in 2026, on each platform, and what to do when it opens as a wall of code.

What is an EML file?

EML stands for "email message". It's a plain-text file that follows the internet message standard (RFC 5322 with MIME). Inside are the headers (From, To, Date, Subject and a long list of technical routing details), the body as plain text and usually HTML, and any attachments encoded as text. Because it's a standard, almost every mail program can read it, and it keeps everything about the original message, which is why lawyers and IT teams like it.

The catch is that your computer needs to know which app should open it. When none is set, you see raw encoded text instead of an email.

The quickest way on any device: a browser viewer

If you just want to read the message, the fastest route is the EML viewer. It works in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPhone and Android. The file is read on your device rather than uploaded, so it's fine for confidential mail.

How to open an EML file on Windows 11 and 10

New Outlook for Windows

New Outlook is now the default mail app on Windows 11. Microsoft's instructions are:

1. Open new Outlook and File Explorer side by side.
2. Drag the .eml file onto the reading pane in Outlook.

You can also right-click the file in File Explorer, choose Open with, then Outlook (new). Double-clicking works if Outlook (new) is the default app for .eml files. If it isn't, go to Settings → Apps → Default apps, search for .eml and choose Outlook (new). Note that new Outlook can open .eml files with any account, while .msg and .oft files require a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription.

Classic Outlook (Microsoft 365 or Office)

Double-click the .eml file. If it opens in another app, right-click it, choose Open with → Choose another app, select Outlook and tick Always use this app to open .eml files.

Thunderbird (free)

Install Thunderbird from thunderbird.net. Then either double-click the file after making Thunderbird the default for .eml, or open Thunderbird and use File → Open → Saved Message (press Alt if the menu bar is hidden) and choose the file.

What happened to the Windows Mail app?

Mail and Calendar for Windows reached end of support on 31 December 2024. If you still see it on an older PC, it may open .eml files, but it no longer receives updates. Use one of the options above instead.

How to open an EML file on a Mac

Apple Mail opens EML files natively. Double-click the file and it opens in a message window. If it opens in another app instead:

1. Select the .eml file in Finder.
2. Choose File → Get Info (or press Command-I).
3. Under Open with, choose Mail.
4. Press Change All so every .eml file opens in Mail.

You don't need to add an account to Mail just to view a file, although Mail may prompt you to set one up the first time it opens. If you'd rather not, use the browser viewer.

Quick Look (select the file and press the Space bar) sometimes shows only the headers of an .eml file, not the body, so don't rely on it to check the content. If the file is a .emlx, which is Apple Mail's own storage format, use the EMLX viewer on non-Mac computers.

How to open an EML file on iPhone and iPad

When an .eml arrives as an attachment in Apple Mail on iOS, tap it. Mail usually shows it as an embedded message. If it was saved to the Files app, or it came through a chat app, there's no built-in mail viewer for loose files. Open Safari, go to inboxvue.com/eml-viewer, tap Choose files, then Browse, and pick the file from Files.

How to open an EML file on Android

The Gmail app opens .eml files that arrive as attachments in many cases, but it doesn't open files saved in your Downloads. For a saved file, open Chrome, go to inboxvue.com/eml-viewer, tap Choose files and pick the .eml from Files or Downloads.

How to open an EML file in Gmail or Outlook on the web

Outlook on the web supports opening .eml files directly: open Outlook in your browser and drag the file onto the reading pane.

Gmail has no option to open a local .eml file. The usual workaround is to send the file to yourself as an attachment; Gmail displays attached .eml messages when you click them. A browser viewer is faster and doesn't send the file through your mailbox.

Getting EML files out of your email

You might need to go the other way and save a message as EML:

• Gmail (web): open the message, click the three-dot More menu next to Reply, and choose Download message. Gmail saves a .eml file.
• Outlook on the web: open the message, choose More actions (three dots), then Download → Download as EML.
• New Outlook for Windows: select the message, choose More actions, then Save as → Save as EML.
• Apple Mail: drag a message from the list to the desktop to save it as an .eml file.
• Thunderbird: select the message, then File → Save As → File and choose the EML format.

Troubleshooting common problems

The file opens as code in a browser or text editor. No mail app is registered for .eml. Use the default-app steps above, or open it in a viewer.

Images are missing. Many emails link to images on the sender's server. Mail apps and viewers block those by default to protect your privacy. Choose to load remote images if you trust the sender.

There's an attachment called winmail.dat. The sender used Outlook's Rich Text Format. The real attachments are inside it. Use the winmail.dat opener to get them out.

The text has strange characters. The sender's app declared the wrong character set. In InboxVue, use ⋯ → Text encoding to choose another one. In Thunderbird, use View → Repair Text Encoding.

The file is huge and won't open. Very large .eml files usually contain big attachments. Mail apps can struggle, while a viewer that reads the file in chunks handles them.

It's not really an EML file. Some files have the wrong extension. If an ".eml" turns out to be an Outlook .msg file or a whole MBOX mailbox, InboxVue detects the real format from the file's content and opens it anyway.

Converting EML files

Once the email is open, you may want a format that's easier to share:

• PDF for records, printing and legal use. See the EML to PDF converter and our guide on saving emails as PDF.
• HTML for reusing the content on the web or in a knowledge base. See EML to HTML.
• Attachments saved separately from the viewer's attachments bar.

Summary