Email Collection Toolkit
Use cases
Examples of personal and institutional email archive workflows.
For Individuals
An individual may have email exports from several accounts stored on old computers and backup drives. Email Collection Toolkit can read the supported files into one local archive and build a search index for the combined collection.
Email Collection Toolkit does not change the source files. It stores the original message data in MBOX files, records where each copy was found, identifies duplicate messages, and creates a new search index when requested.
The program can:
- search messages across decades, accounts, and backup sets;
- report message counts by year, sender, and recipient;
- record each source in which a duplicate message was found; and
- verify files and messages with SHA-256 hashes.
For Archivists
A library may receive a donor's digital files from several sources, including:
- two laptops;
- ten external hard drives;
- a Gmail account that the family has authorized the library to access; and
- an export of the donor's university Microsoft 365 account.
Email Collection Toolkit can read supported email files from the computers, drives, and account exports into one archive. Its local viewer lets library staff search the collection and preview messages and attachments. Collection reports list years, senders, and recipients and can provide data for a finding aid. The archive records the file and storage source in which each message was found.
Each email archive is stored natively as a BagIt 1.0 package conforming to Mailbag 1.0; there is no separate BagIt/Mailbag export step. Email is stored in MBOX files under data/mbox/, with Mailbag metadata, source records, and SHA-256 hashes. The MBOX files can be transferred to ePADD for additional appraisal, review, and access work. ePADD does not currently open a Mailbag package directly.
Available and planned source support
Current releases read local MBOX, EML, Maildir, Emacs RMAIL Babyl, and complete Apple Mail .emlx messages. A Gmail or Microsoft 365 export can be read if it uses one of these formats.
Direct access to Gmail and Microsoft 365 accounts is planned but is not yet available. Local PST/OST support exists in the development checkout, with the format and helper requirements documented in the user manual. Mailbag import, automatic transfer to ePADD, redaction, and more detailed finding-aid output are also planned.
File and source handling
Email Collection Toolkit uses the same process for personal and institutional collections:
- source mailboxes, accounts, stores, and exports are read-only;
- the original RFC 5322 message data is stored in MBOX files;
- every location containing a duplicate message is recorded;
- search indexes can be created again from the archived messages; and
- the archive uses MBOX, BagIt 1.0, Mailbag 1.0, and SHA-256.
Email Collection Toolkit is not an email client or a hosted service. See the README for installation and operating instructions.