Opening an INBOX File

The INBOX file type is primarily associated with Mozilla Thunderbird.

INBOX	File extension: INBOX
	File type:	plain text email storage file

What is an INBOX file?

INBOX files mostly belong to Mozilla Thunderbird. INBOX files hold email messages in a plain text format. They act as storage files for a mailbox, where all incoming emails are saved sequentially within a single file.
These files are most commonly used by Mozilla Thunderbird to manage your incoming mail. In a typical setup, the Inbox is stored as a single file with all messages concatenated together, following the mbox style format.
Key points compiled by FilExt.com:

Email Storage: Contains full email messages including headers and body text.

Thunderbird Integration: Used by Mozilla Thunderbird to store and manage your email, which you can read more about at Thunderbird Official Site.

Accessibility: Can be opened by email clients that support the mbox format or with dedicated mbox viewing tools.

FilExt.com note: This design lets users back up or migrate their emails easily without handling many individual files. Although you can open a INBOX file in a plain text editor, it is safest to use an email client to avoid unintended modifications.

How do you open INBOX files?

You need a suitable software like Mozilla Thunderbird to open an INBOX file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your INBOX file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a INBOX file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online INBOX Text Viewer

Choose your .inbox file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from INBOX files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

You can extract texts from INBOX file or capture a preview screenshot using our online INBOX file viewer:

To do this, click the button "Choose your .inbox file to view" on this page.
After your file is opened in browser,
click "Save as..." in the menu.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert INBOX files:

Mozilla Thunderbird
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. INBOX files are often referred to as Mozilla Thunderbird simple text files because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Mozilla Thunderbird
An .INBOX file is an email message file primarily used by Mozilla Thunderbird. It stores email messages within a user's local email client, acting as the primary repository for incoming and potentially outgoing mail. While often hidden from direct user interaction, the .INBOX file is crucial for accessing and managing emails within the Thunderbird email client. This file format is classified as email message file.

INBOX file format details:

The file format, which is the arrangement and type of data in a file, determines which program can open the file. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. File extension, signature and file format must match; otherwise errors will occur when the file is opened. Knowledge is power - this also applies when dealing with unknown or faulty files. Below you will find our evaluation of the INBOX files:

INBOX is not a commonly used file extension and is primarily used by a single program. The two most common formats are as follows:

90% of all INBOX files start with the magic bytes From , which are always the first bytes of this file format. The contents of these files are easily readable with a text editor. The files are on average 70 MB in size and range from 1 MB to 200 MB. The file type was developed 20 years ago and is still in use today. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as From, X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000, X-Mozilla-Status: 0001, X-Account-Key, X-Mozilla-Keys, Return-Path, X-UIDL and Received: from. A usual file name is INBOX..

All other INBOX files (10%) have no uniform format. Just click the "Choose your .inbox file to view" button on this page to find out what your INBOX file is.

Technical Data for INBOX File Extension

File classification:

Simple text file

Related files:

mbox, eml, pst, ost, dbx, maildir, msf, snm, sent-1, sent, sbd, tyb

an inbox plain text email storage file is a special file format and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with INBOX files

Associate the INBOX file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open plain text email storage files. Because only the current version supports the latest INBOX file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the manufacturer website after an available Mozilla Thunderbird update.
To make sure that your INBOX file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .INBOX file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.