How to Archive Thunderbird Email Files? Solved

  

Rollins Duke   
Published: June 10th, 2025 • 8 Min Read

Is there a lot of clutter in the inbox that you use using Thunderbird? Couldn’t you help yourself handle the emails that are the most urgent and vital right now, as well as the ones that you don’t need right now but will for sure require in the future? Now, if you want to get rid of the predicament that you’re in, archiving is the method to do it. In this write-up, we will show you the complete and step-by-step guide to archive Thunderbird email files.

Thunderbird is a popular choice for users as an email client because it offers a multitude of benefits, some of which include sophisticated spam filtering, a solid reputation for dependability, the capacity to be customized, a high standard of protection, support for email protocols such as SMTP, POP3, and IMAP, and more.

Thunderbird archive emails locally mean moving the emails from a standard folder to an archive folder. The advantage you get with this is that you don’t have to delete your emails. This is how you can empty your inbox, so let’s tell you how to archive Thunderbird email files.

What Makes Someone Archive Thunderbird Email?

• First of all, the process to archive Thunderbird email frees up the internal storage of Thunderbird, which ultimately makes storage for important emails and also boosts the system speed. 
• Whether it’s syncing speed or export/import, the functions run swiftly and quickly after the Thunderbird archive all emails. 
• It also helps in backup Thunderbird emails in separate folders so that crucial information can be accessed easily when needed.
• Over and above that, it also helps in compliance and long-term future use of the Thunderbird emails. 
• Last but not least, the Thunderbird archive emails locally also gives access to the data even in offline mode, which is not otherwise possible. 

How to Archive Thunderbird Email Folders Manually?

There are two prominent ways to conventionally do the Thunderbird archive all emails and hence, to know about both of them in brief read the mentioned methods.

Method 1: Thunderbird Archive Emails Locally Using Built-In Option

1. Start Thunderbird on your device. 
2. Right-click on the email that you want to archive.
3. Click on the Archive icon, which is present next to the reply icon. 
4. This will automatically make a folder with the Archive name and move the email there.
5. And, with this, the process of Thunderbird auto archive completes.

Method 2: Archive Thunderbird Emails Using Move To

1. First, you need to open your Thunderbird email client on your device.
2. Now you need to set up the archive folders first (if you haven’t already).
3. First, click on the Local Folder visible in the left pane, and then click on New Folder.
   
4. Enter a new folder name as Archive and create it as a subfolder of the local folder.
   
5. Now select the message and then right-click and select the “Move To” option to archive Thunderbird email files.
   

Settings of Thunderbird Archive All Emails

For accurate Thunderbird archive emails locally, the user must have set the right settings in the email client. However, to cross-check it and edit accordingly, one can follow the steps so that a successful Thunderbird archive shortcut can be used. 

1. Keep the Thunderbird open and move your cursor to your email ID.
2. Now, right-click on it and choose the Settings option.
3. Further, select the Account Settings tab. 
4. Then, from the left panel, click on the Copies & Folders tab.
5. After this, move to the Message Archive options and check the settings.
6. Next, for Thunderbird archive emails locally, click on Archive Folder on: Local Folder.
7. However, one can also select the Email Account option to set the Thunderbird archive folder location server only. 
8. With this, the settings of the Thunderbird archive shortcut can be changed accordingly. 

Read Also: Ultimate Way to Resolve Thunderbird Import Not Working Issue

Why is the Manual Way to Archive Thunderbird Email Unreliable?

• It is very complex to understand and follow for Thunderbird auto archive. 
• There is also a lack of data security in the manual method to do this process. 
• Another drawback of using the conventional way for Thunderbird archive emails locally is that it supports only 2000 emails, which is a great file-size limitation. 
• These solutions may look like Thunderbird archive shortcut, but ironically, they are very lengthy and time-consuming. 
• Manual methods are hectic since they do not support bulk actions at all, and the user has to follow the same steps for each Thunderbird email archive. 
• Due to its technicality, the chances of errors are very high, which is unacceptable for crucial data.

1. Download and install the application on the device where you are configured with the Thunderbird account by clicking the link provided.
2. Start the application and then click Next to start a new screen.
   
3. Select Convert configured Thunderbird mailbox data and then click Next.
   
4. Select the folders that you want to archive in your local folder, then click Next to archive Thunderbird email files.
   
5. Choose the saving option based on your preference, choose the destination path, and then click the Convert button.
   

See, this way is the most reliable, as you can choose any local folder on your device, so you can keep your important emails safe. On the other hand, if your account space is very low, you can delete some of your emails by archiving them to your local drive first with the help of the proposed application.

Now we would strongly like you to look at some of the primary qualities of the tool. That way, you can learn a little more about the tool and decide why you need to choose it to archive Thunderbird email files instead of the manual function.

These are just the primary features; we’ve discussed them as an overview of the tool. However, when you run the tool to accomplish your task, you will be in for a lot of surprises, so good luck with it.

FAQs

1. How to retrieve archived emails in Thunderbird?

The tool mentioned above lets the user choose the destination to archive Thunderbird emails. Once that is done, the user can anytime browse and open the path where they have stored the output of Thunderbird archive all emails. 

2. What is the Thunderbird archive shortcut?

Simply, right-click the email and click on the Archive icon present there. And, this is how one can archive Thunderbird emails without any hassle. 

3. Does Thunderbird auto archive?

No, until the user performs the Thunderbird archive emails locally steps, the data does not move to any other folder or destination. Thus, there is no option like Thunderbird auto archive. 

Final Words

We have offered you both manual and automatic functions to archive Thunderbird email files. If you have some emails to archive you can use the manual feature, but if you have thousands of emails and want to archive them all at once, then you need to go for an automatic method. Well, the automatic method also allows archiving email on your local storage on any of your preferred platforms.