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Mail Backup X is designed to archive emails from a variety of sources, automate the process when possible, and give you access to your own message history without wrapping it in complication. This article focuses on one case: backing up emails from AirMail. The client itself is popular on macOS and iOS for its clean design and fast handling, but it doesn’t offer direct backup options. It offers a way to export your data to archived formats like MBOX, but not to a proper backup solution that’s reliable. (note: exports are not backups).
If your intention is to archive your live accounts in AirMail that happen to be accessed through AirMail UI or to extract and preserve the local data AirMail has stored on your system, we have a solution for you. It’s called Mail Backup X. It works without relying on the AirMail interface.
There’s no single definition for what someone means when they say “AirMail backup.”
You could be referring to your email account, which is accessed via AirMail but exists independently on an IMAP server. Or you could mean the local cache that AirMail has built over time, including folders, tags, or downloaded messages, some of which may no longer be on the server.
If you want to back up your email account directly, start by setting up a new profile.
The second path is different. If your goal is to preserve what’s already been downloaded to AirMail’s local cache, and you have access to exported MBOX or EML files, the steps change. If you don’t know how to export your emails from AirMail to MBOX, go to Apple’s support website, and you can easily find the help page to do so.
This time, instead of clicking “Add New Backup,” you go to the Import Data section. From there, you select the exported files and load them into the tool. This creates what’s called a passive profile. It doesn’t connect to the internet or fetch new messages, but it does make your archive searchable and fully accessible. You can view messages, extract them, or export them into different formats. These passive profiles sit quietly alongside your live backups.
This approach works especially well if you’re transitioning away from AirMail, or if you no longer use the Mac it was installed on. Export your messages, move them to another system, and import them. Once inside the tool, they behave like any other profile, minus the update schedule.
Once a profile is created, you can decide exactly where the archive will live. Some users store everything on their primary disk. Others split storage across an internal drive and an external SSD. You can also link a Dropbox or Google Drive folder. This backup tool supports mirrored storage, meaning each archive can be written to more than one place.
For IMAP-based profiles created using your AirMail account credentials, scheduling becomes part of the profile setup. You can set it to back up automatically as new messages arrive, or at fixed intervals like every 30 minutes, once per day, or weekly. These settings are adjustable later if your needs change. Schedules operate independently across profiles, so you can treat different accounts with different priorities.
AirMail never controlled the mail server, which means you still have full access through this backup tool, regardless of the client you use.
Imported messages from AirMail can be viewed from within the app. Click on the profile, launch the viewer, and navigate through folders. You’ll see all message content, including attachments, in a traditional email format. The index builds automatically during import, so there’s no delay in searching large archives.
You can export individual messages, entire folders, or the whole profile into other formats. This makes it simple to hand over a curated set of messages to a collaborator or just create a local copy for a specific year.
Q1: Can I back up my AirMail data directly using this tool?
You can back up the email accounts that AirMail connects to, which are typically IMAP-based. Use the “Email Server” option in the tool, then select your provider and sign in. The backup will pull all server-side data. The AirMail app itself doesn’t need to be open or configured during this process.
Q2: What if I want to back up messages already downloaded in AirMail?
Export them from AirMail as MBOX or EML files. Then use the “Import Data” option inside the tool to create a passive profile. This profile is treated as an archive. You can search, view, and export from it, but it won’t sync or update with the server. This is ideal for users moving away from AirMail or transferring their data.
Q3: Will this preserve my tags or custom folders from AirMail?
That depends on how AirMail saved them during export. If tags were saved as folders or metadata in the MBOX or EML files, they will appear during import. Folder structures are preserved fully. Message headers, content, and attachments remain intact.
Q4: Can I mix AirMail passive profiles with active profiles from other accounts?
Yes. The tool allows multiple profiles, and each can have its own type. Your AirMail archive can sit next to an active Gmail IMAP profile or a Microsoft 365 sync. You can manage all profiles from the same dashboard and search them independently.
Q5: What happens if I add new messages to my AirMail export later?
If you modify or re-export the archive, you can either re-import the entire file or add just the new messages. Each import creates a separate passive profile. You can rename and organize them as you like. The software treats each as a stand-alone archive, without merging content automatically.
You can begin with a trial that runs for fifteen days. During that period, everything functions as it should, backups, imports, search, encryption, scheduling, and USB snapshots.
Once the trial ends, the software enters a passive state. You’ll still be able to open and view previously imported data, and even add more MBOX or EML files, but live backups will pause. If you prefer to continue with full functionality, personal and team licenses are available. A personal license activates the software on two computers and allows up to five live backup profiles. More seats or profile slots can be added through optional coupons or custom quotes for larger teams. There’s also a Team Edition designed for shared environments, with central controls for managing multiple users. Whichever license you choose, the structure supports expansion and long-term use across formats and systems.
There are emails you barely remember writing that once carried your entire focus.
There’s something consequential in the accumulation of messages. How they hold decisions we forgot we made, emotions we never fully named, and patterns that only become visible when seen from a distance. Email is like a mirror of pace, attention, and change. Inside those folders are evidence of how we responded to time. Some threads grew dense with meaning. Others cut off mid-sentence and stayed that way. Together, they sketch a version of memory few other formats allow.
And all that live in AirMail now, or did once, tucked behind an interface you liked enough to trust.
You don’t need to use that client forever, but the record deserves better than to vanish when the app updates or the system changes. An AirMail backup is that recognition that your digital past deserves a home. Mail Backup X gives you that home without reshaping what you already built. It reads, preserves, and lets you return when you need to, without judgment. You don’t always need everything from your past, but when you do, it helps to know it’s still intact.
