Data Backup

Download All Attachments from Gmail to Computer/Drive at Once

Fact-checked and reviewed in accordance with our Editorial Policy

Gmail’s native “Download all” option (the small downward arrow at the bottom of an email) lets you extract all attachments from a single email message as a single ZIP file, but there’s no built-in way to bulk download attachments from Gmail across a whole thread or your entire mailbox.

While Filters and Google Takeout – the usual workarounds also often fail to automate the process. Thus the suitable way to Download All Attachments from Gmail – is to either use “Add-On” (comes with its own restrictions & add setup complexity) or use a BitRecover Gmail Attachment Extractor for secure & deep-parsing to export of all attachments from multiple Gmail mailbox simultaneously in one pass & in original format.

Disclaimer: This guide helps you download only attachments from multiple emails in Gmail. Read here in case your concern is [downloading complete Gmail emails with attachments].

Reasons to Why Extract Attachments from Gmail in Bulk 

  • Gmail Storage Quota Exceeding: A free Gmail account only has 15 GB of storage – large media, photo, or video attachments can occupy space and degrade performance. One can extract attachments from Gmail – so as to avoid loss and then delete them to free up Gmail.
  • Record-Keeping Needs: Gmail attachment store can have crucial data like tax record, invoices & receipts and important documentation.
    • Case1: As an HR- need a separate copy of all joining letters of a year sent as attachment from GWS/Gmail account – with matching receiver and date.
    • Case 2: A freelancer might need to download multiple attachments sent over Gmail related to projects like – scope, bill, client-requirement etc.
  • Migrating Away from Gmail or Closing Account: Offer letters, expense receipts, signed contracts anything that exists only as an attachment has to be extracted before the mailbox is deactivated.
  • Saving attachments from multiple Gmail emails reduces dependency on the internet to access them.
  • Transferring data to another platform to track and analyse data from crucial Gmail attachments.

Download All Attachments From Gmail Individual Messages

Note: Gmail’s “Download all attachments” option downloads only the actual file attachments as a ZIP file, while embedded attachments or images within the email body are not included.

  1. Go to Gmail webmail and sign-in.
  2. Open Gmail with multiple attachments & scroll to the bottom.
  3. Click on the Download all Attachment icon small downwards arrow.
    extract attachment from Gmail to Zip in bulk
  4. Go to the Finder or File Explorer based on Mac & Windows devices and unzip/extract all.

All of your attachments from Gmail will be downloaded in exact format without any alteration to PC.

How to Download All Attachments from a Gmail Conversation (Thread)?

A Gmail thread or conversion has multiple messages and Gmail doesn’t have a native “download entire thread” button.

Note: It’s not a true native solution and merely a walkaround. It works because “Forward all” collapses the entire thread into a single message.

  1. Open the thread.
  2. Click on three-dots (More) icon – on the top (not under a specific thread message) and choose Forward.
  3. In the “To” address enter your personal mail – the same or different Gmail account.
  4. All your attachments will land under one mail and use the “Download Gmail Attachment as Zip”.

Extra Advantage: The inbuilt option to download attachments from Gmail gives you two options.

  • To save attachments from Gmail to local drive — for full independent access of data.
  • To save Gmail attachments to Google Drive — where the data is stored on cloud and hence much more accessible and secure. So you don’t have to worry about data corruption.

Downloading Attachments from Gmail App on iOS/iPhone

Here are the steps to extract attachment from a single Gmail email on iOS. Even on iOS you can only extract one attachment at a time, to download all you will have to repeat the process for each attachment.

  1. Open attachment in Gmail application.
  2. Click on the Share icon (square with an upward arrow).
  3. Choose Save to Files and choose where you want to save Gmail attachment on My iPhone or iCloud Drive.

Disclaimer: Gmail does not have a filter or a direct option for downloading all attachments from multiple Gmail emails at once. Filter like has\:attachment sorts your inbox down to only messages containing files. If it does not download, you will be required to extract them one by one only.

Why Are You Sometimes Unable to Download All Attachments from Gmail on Android?

Before extracting attachment from Gmail Mobile App understand key pointers like:

  • There’s no batch option to download all attachments from Gmail emails.
  • A single click on the attachment file will open the attachment on mobile rather than downloading it – you are supposed to click on the “Download Icon” – small downward arrow.
  • Make sure you have granted storage permission to the Gmail application and also sufficient storage space on the mobile device to download extracted attachments from Gmail Mailbox. (Settings >> Apps > Gmail > Permissions > Files and Media)

BitRecover Gmail Attachment Extractor: Automated Purpose-Built Tool

BitRecover Email Attachment Extractor is a dedicated desktop based tool that lets you download all attachments – inline or true attachments for Gmail or paid-Google Workspace account – single or multiple in go in their original format – organized in proper hierarchy for easy access after extraction on all Mac & Windows devices. Fully standalone software that lets you download all attachments from Gmail without any email client or Webmail requirement.


Try the BitRecover Gmail Attachment Downloader for Free: Download and save 20 Gmail attachments from your account without any cost before committing to the full version.

How to Download All Attachments from Gmail Mailbox?

  1. Install and open BitRecover Gmail Attachment Downloader.
  2. Select Gmail from the source and connect to Gmail via Google OAuth.
    enter account credentials
  3. Choose the labels from which you need to extract attachments.
    select email folders
  4. Choose the saving destination. Optional: Apply filters.
    destination path
  5. Finally click onto the Backup button.

Core Features BitRecover Tool to Save Attachment from Gmail Account

  • Deeply Reads the Content-Disposition Tag 
    The tool can read all the attachments marked by Gmail true attachment & inline such as company logo, email signature image, tracking image and the true attachment tag – and download all attachments from Gmail to computer.
  • Save Specific Attachment from Gmail Account to Computer 
    BitRecover Gmail Attachment Extractor tool has multiple filters to specifically download Gmail attachments based on sender & recipient address, keywords, date range to meet the real life Gmail Attachment extraction needs of users.
  • Download Gmail Attachments in Their Original Format 
    If you forward emails as EML files or have ZIP files or other media files in formats like PDF, MP4, JPEG, JPG, etc., they are downloaded as they are.
  • Extract Attachment from Gmail With No Security Risk and Interference
    BitRecover software downloaded on the computer is 100% virus free verified by virus total and does not interfere with Gmail’s webmail interface. The BitRecover Tool connects to Gmail with Google API and follows Google’s App Defense Alliance without uploading data to any external server.
  • Handles & Scan Entire Gmail Mailbox at Once 
    Functionality of BitRecover Gmail Attachment Extractor is not limited to Gmail inbox but all labels including sent, draft, and other custom folders. The tool also lets you extract attachments from Gmail accounts in bulk using the “I am Admin” mode.
  • Incremental Extraction
    Run the extraction again to get only the newly added email attachments, no need to re-download the attachments that had
    been saved.

Should I Use Third-Party Chrome Extension to Extract Gmail Attachments?

Chrome extensions are a popular way to download Gmail attachments without leaving the native webmail interface and can prove helpful when the attachment extraction is limited to Threads only in a quick way. There are other concerns which are associated with Gmail attachment downloader extensions:

  • Often complex to setup and does not download Gmail attachments in original format.
  • Most available “Add-Ons” to bulk download all attachments from Gmail – does not backup only attachment  but entire email.
  • Do not support downloading attachments from multiple Gmail emails in one go.
  • Often interfere with other Gmail features and may lead to Gmail 400 error.
  • Though not true for all Gmail attachment downloader extensions – gives corrupted output sometime without preserving original format.

Can Google Takeout Help Me Download All Attachments from Gmail Mailbox?

The answer is Yes & No. Google Takeout is Google’s native tool to extract complete Gmail mailboxes in MBOX format. Hence yes it can download emails with attachments but it will not download only attachments in one place. You will further have to extract attachment from that MBOX file – which is although simple with a tool can be manually but it can be very time taking and dependent on the email client.

Compare & Find Best Way to Download Attachments from Multiple Emails in Gmail

Method Bulk (multiple emails) Attachment-only output Original format kept All labels/folders Filter by sender/date/keyword Setup effort Cost
Native “Download All” No Yes Yes No No None Free
Thread Forward Trick No (1 thread only) Yes Yes No No Low Free
Mobile (iOS/Android) No Yes Yes No No None Free
Chrome Extension Partial No (often whole email) Not guaranteed No Rarely Medium Free/Paid
Google Takeout Yes (whole mailbox) No (exports MBOX) No (needs extra extraction) Yes No Low Free
BitRecover Extractor Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Low (one install) Free demo / Paid
FAQs: Download All Attachments from Gmail Account

Q1: Can I download attachments from Gmail without opening each email?

Gmail’s native interface does not let you download attachments without opting for the email. Yet it is possible with the chrome extension or using the BitRecover Gmail Attachment Extractor – mostly for bulk data.

Q2: What happens to attachments larger than 25MB when extracting from Gmail?

Gmail doesn’t allow you to attach files larger than 25MB directly – the sender’s copy is automatically converted to a Google Drive link instead of an embedded file, so on the receiving end you’ll see a shareable Drive link instead of a downloadable attachment.

Q3: How can I open email attachments in Gmail without downloading them?

Gmail gives a native option to open attachments via the Gmail webmail in chrome itself.

About the Author

Rollins Duke

Rollins Duke

Technical Content Writer at BitRecover · 2129 articles

View all posts by Rollins Duke

Live Chat
Google Preferred Source