Is there a good viewer for reading mbox mail files (as in thunderbird)? Googling for one, the simplest recommendation I found is that any text editor will read an mbox file. That's fine, but practically speaking it is useless for viewing hundreds of emails because the content is buried in huge quantities of communicating and formatting instructions. Also spreadsheet and picture attachments can't be read or identified.

I'd like to examine the messages in old mbox files (i.e., outside the active mail program such as icedove/thunderbird) in the same way that a file manager can list the various files in a directory. Presumably one can copy an old mbox file into icedove to read it, but one does not want to take the risk of messing up one's current active mail.

Or is there a script that could simply list the sender/addressee and title of each message?

Perhaps this question should be in the newbie section.

If you don't mind learning some Perl, it has lots of modules for mbox http://search.cpan.org/search?query=mbox&mode=all

Mbox files can be read with Mutt, at least if it's Link removed mutt can read. If you have to convert it, this can be done by formail. I haven't found another mbox / maildir reader, but would also be interested.

Maybe KMail can read mbox / maildir also.

Thanks for the leads.

You could set up another profile in Thunderbird/Icedove then open the file from that profile?
https://support.mozillamessaging.com...tiple-profiles

Many users can have problems reading the MBOX files.

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