Save emails as Markdown files. Supports single email, thread, and batch modes.
Syntax¶
iobox save [OPTIONS]Options¶
| Option | Short | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
--message-id |
-m |
TEXT | None |
ID of a specific email to save (single mode) |
--thread-id |
TEXT | None |
ID of a thread to save as a single file | |
--query |
-q |
TEXT | None |
Search query for batch mode |
--max |
INT | 10 |
Maximum number of emails in batch mode | |
--days |
-d |
INT | 7 |
Number of days back to search |
--start-date |
-s |
TEXT | None |
Start date in YYYY/MM/DD format |
--end-date |
-e |
TEXT | None |
End date in YYYY/MM/DD format |
--output-dir |
-o |
TEXT | . |
Directory to save Markdown files |
--html-preferred |
FLAG | True |
Prefer HTML content if available | |
--download-attachments |
FLAG | False |
Download email attachments | |
--attachment-types |
TEXT | None |
Filter attachments by extension (e.g. pdf,docx) |
|
--include-spam-trash |
FLAG | False |
Include messages from SPAM and TRASH | |
--sync |
FLAG | False |
Only fetch new emails since last run (incremental sync) |
One of --message-id, --thread-id, or --query is required.
Modes¶
Single Email Mode¶
Save one specific email by its message ID:
iobox save --message-id 18e4a2b3c1d5f6a7 -o ./emailsThread Mode¶
Save all messages in a thread as a single Markdown file:
iobox save --thread-id 18e4a2b3c1d5f6a7 -o ./emailsBatch Mode¶
Save all emails matching a search query:
iobox save -q "from:newsletter@example.com" -d 14 --max 50 -o ./emailsExamples¶
Save emails from the last week with attachments:
iobox save -q "has:attachment from:reports@example.com" -d 7 -o ./reports \
--download-attachments --attachment-types pdf,xlsxIncremental sync — only new emails since last run:
iobox save -q "label:important" -o ./important --syncOutput Format¶
Each email is saved as a .md file named YYYY-MM-DD-subject-slug.md:
---
date: Mon, 01 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000
from: sender@example.com
labels:
- INBOX
message_id: 18e4a2b3c1d5f6a7
saved_date: 2026-03-02T10:30:00
subject: Email Subject
thread_id: 18e4a2b3c1d5f6a7
to: you@example.com
---
Email body content in Markdown...Attachments are saved to attachments/{message_id}/ within the output directory.