Download email attachments in a snap!

Save all your email attachments to your drive in just a few clicks. A widely deployed, reliable email attachment downloader that uses industry-standard protocols to securely process your data locally, with no third-party services or cloud providers involved. Trusted by users worldwide for over 10 years.

Easily search, download, extract and save emails with attachments with simple setup. This free email downloader does not require or depend on any other email client to be installed and it works with most email service providers out of the box.

Totally free, unlimited downloads
No Outlook, plugins or browser extensions needed
Fast email downloads
Filter attachments
Save email attachments to named folders
Emails stay on your server

CNET Editor Quote: Download your email attachments to your PC with a single click using Mail Attachment Downloader. This app works out of the box with most of the popular email services and is highly customizable. You can set multiple filters, so only the attachments that matter to you will be saved.

Softonic Editor Quote: Mail Attachment Downloader is ideal for enhancing productivity by streamlining the attachment retrieval process, allowing users to focus on their tasks without the hassle of managing multiple files.

For more, refer to: Technology, Security and Privacy | How To Guide | Core Features | Frequently Asked Questions

How it works: technology, search and security

Technology

Mail Attachment Downloader is a standalone local application: it talks directly to your mail server and processes everything on your PC, with no cloud intermediaries. It works with Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail (requires an app password) and any other IMAP mail server, and with Microsoft 365/Exchange via Graph or EWS. Older POP3 mail servers are supported too.

Gmail attachment downloader

Choose Gmail as the server type and sign in with Google in your web browser: the program never sees your password and no app password is needed. It works with personal Gmail and Google Workspace accounts, downloads from your Inbox or the labels you pick, and if Gmail's daily download limit is reached it stops and continues where it left off on the next run. You only need IMAP turned on in Gmail. Gmail setup guide

Outlook attachment downloader

Download attachments from Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live accounts, or from Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online work or school mailboxes, including shared mailboxes. You sign in with Microsoft in your web browser, and the Outlook desktop app doesn't need to be installed or open. Outlook and Microsoft 365 setup guide

Search

Search filters make it easy to download just the attachments you need: search the mail headers like from and to, or even the body, filter by file type like documents or images, or by email size. More info

Will this affect my email?

No. Mail Attachment Downloader leaves all your mail on your server as is and does not mark it as read. It will not interfere with any other programs you use today to download your mail.

Security and privacy

Your downloads are private. Emails and attachments go straight from your mail server to your PC; no third-party service or cloud provider is involved. Mail Attachment Downloader is CASA Tier-2 certified. Connections default to TLS with OAuth support for multi-factor authentication. Passwords and tokens are stored securely with least-privilege access (e.g. Windows DPAPI) and are never logged. Some providers, such as Yahoo, need an app password. The PRO editions can also sign in through your organization's own Microsoft 365 or Google app registration.

Security | Privacy | Terms | Email server configuration help

Mail Attachment Downloader PRO Server with its download history chart

Upgrade to Pro

Go PRO & process emails with or without attachments

Mail Attachment Downloader bridges the gap between your inbox and your core business systems, providing a robust, standardized way to automate high-volume email processing. Every PRO edition includes a commercial license, so you can use it for your business. PRO plans start at $15/month per system, billed annually, with perpetual licenses also available. See pricing.

Enterprise Reliability: With the PRO Server version, your automation never sleeps. It operates as a Windows Background Service — meaning it runs 24/7 without requiring an active user login. Ensure your data is saved, organized, and audited even while you're away.

Data Extraction: Automatically pull order numbers, invoice totals, or company names directly from email bodies and attachments.
File Transformation: Unzip archives on the fly or convert emails/attachments into search-ready PDFs or TIFFs (supports 50+ formats).
Database & ERP Integration: Push extracted data and email metadata directly into SQL databases, Excel, or CSV files for seamless auditing.
Whole Emails & Mailbox Clean-up: Go beyond attachments: save the email itself, even emails without attachments, then mark it as read, move it or delete it once it's processed.
Dynamic File Naming: Route files into custom nested directory structures based on sender, date, or specific extracted content.
AI-Powered Analysis: Use ChatGPT and Claude integrations to summarize lengthy emails or intelligently categorize attachments before they hit your drive.
High-Frequency Scheduling: Run downloads as often as every 15 minutes to keep your business moving in real-time.
Replies & Notifications: With PRO Server, send templated replies, forwards or alerts automatically as emails are processed.

What our users say

We often call it 'Outlook rules on steroids'… an email-focussed Swiss knife in our pocket which we can confidently deploy in just a few hours.

Jeremy

With Mail Attachment Downloader, we have automated this process, saving hundreds of hours and improving efficiency—at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.

Derek

I love the program. It has been a huge time saver and I love that it will download specific email attachments to the NAS to be accessible by all employees…

Stewart

Go PRO

Save every email to the right folder, named your way

A customer favourite: PRO saves emails from several accounts into different folders, each with its own naming format.

Free

1 email account
1 rule, saving to one folder
Fixed file names

PRO

Several accounts in one run: up to 15 on Pro Client, unlimited on Pro Server
Unlimited rules, each saving to its own folder
Folder and file names built from the email, such as {FROM}\{SUBJECT}\{FILENAME}

Invoices\billing@acme.com\inv-97261.pdf
Receipts\2026-09\order-1182.pdf
Reports\Monthly\sales-report.xlsx

Example: three rules, three folders, each named from the email

Volume licensing discounts from 3 installs
25% reseller discount
30-day money-back guarantee

See pricing and buy Compare features

More: Explore use-cases · Rules Based Email Processing

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does it download all my mail the first time I run it?

The program identifies new mail based on when it last successfully downloaded attachments.

So when you run it for the first time, since no attachments have been downloaded yet, it will download all mail attachments in your email inbox after which it will only scan for mail attachments that arrive from thereon (including read and unread mail).

The default setting will only download messages since last download including unread mails that have not been downloaded by the program. IMPORTANT: If you switch this setting to All mail at any time, any state will be lost and the next time you select messages since last download it will download from the start again. To avoid this, select a date filter (see FAQ below titled "How do I download from a given date?").

Subsequent runs by clicking the 'Connect And Download' button will download remaining mail attachments that have not been downloaded yet until it has downloaded all attachments till the present day.

Can I download all attachments from Gmail or Outlook at once?

Yes. The first run downloads the attachments from all the mail in your Gmail or Outlook inbox, or from the Gmail labels and Outlook folders you select (choose Selected Folders in the Folders and files tab). To start from a given date instead, set a start date as described below. Large Gmail mailboxes can reach Gmail's daily download limit: the program stops, keeps its place and continues on the next run.

How do I download from a given date?

If you don't want to wait to download all email attachments the first time, set the 'start date' from which you want to download your attachments in the Search tab. Leave the 'end date' unchecked to indicate that there is no end date.

How do I re-download the same attachments?

If you you want to re-download the same attachments that the program had already downloaded in the past, choose Search -> Check In -> All mail. You may also want to check the Inline Content checkbox if you want to download attachments that are inlined. For certain types of mail servers this will be checked by default.

Do my emails go through a third-party or cloud service?

No. Mail Attachment Downloader runs on your PC and connects directly to your mail server, so your emails and attachments download straight to your drive. No third-party service or cloud provider is involved, and your mail stays on your server as it was.

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Mail Attachment Downloader Free edition