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Every message out of the PSTas its own .eml file.

EML is the portable shape of an email: a single standard file that mail programs, archiving systems, and review platforms read. PstVault writes them from the archive with headers, bodies, and attachments inside.

Select the messages, choose Email (.eml), and PstVault writes one standard file per message, named by date and subject, with the attachments inside.

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Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Full PstVault overview
One-time purchase No telemetry Local-first

windows · no outlook needed · pst never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

If this sounds like your week

A PST is one big container. Most tools want single messages.

An Outlook PST packs years of correspondence into one binary database that few programs understand. Review platforms, archiving systems, other desktop clients, and a colleague on a Mac all prefer it split up, in the standard internet format they already accept. Until that correspondence is broken into standalone .eml units, it stays stuck where it is.

Where tooling usually breaks

Forwarding them one by one is not a migration.

Without a converter, people forward correspondence to themselves a piece at a time, or drag batches out of Outlook by hand. Forwarding stamps your own address and today’s timestamp on everything, dragged batches can land in a proprietary format other software rejects, and enclosures go missing. After a few hundred, there is no telling which ones made it out.

Where PstVault lands

Standard .eml files, named so they sort.

PstVault turns every selection into standard .eml units. The envelope is rebuilt from the PST: From, To, Cc, Bcc, the timestamp, the subject line, and the Message-ID. Both body versions travel as alternatives, embedded images as related parts, and enclosures ride along within each unit. Each name starts with the timestamp, so an export lists chronologically in Explorer. The Native option adds VCF for contacts and ICS for appointments.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Learn more about PstVault

windows · no outlook needed · pst never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

What you get

Feature highlights

Opens a PST without Outlook

reads Outlook data files directly, from Open PST, a double-click in File Explorer, or the Recent list, and shows every folder with its message count.

Finds the mail you need

Sender, Subject, Body, Recipient, From date, and To date filters across one folder and everything beneath it, or All folders, with results listed newest first.

PDF your way

one PDF for the selection with a bookmark per item, or one PDF per item, on Letter or A4, with PDF, PNG, JPEG, and text attachments appended as pages and the originals embedded.

EML and offline HTML

standard .eml files with headers, bodies, and attachments inside, and sanitized HTML reading copies with local pictures that open in any browser.

Contacts and calendars

vCard 4.0 files or one contact table (.csv) for Excel, and calendar events as .ics with recurring series and time zones; Native files picks the format for each item.

A report of everything saved, and the PST untouched

a JSON report lists each item, its format, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written; the PST is read-only and nothing uploads.

Especially when

  • Open a PST file from an old backup or a former colleague without installing Outlook or setting up a mail profile
  • Find the handful of messages that matter in a large archive by sender, recipient, subject, body text, and date
  • Hand over selected emails as one bookmarked PDF, standard EML files, or offline HTML, with the attachments kept
  • Keep the archive unchanged and the mail on the PC, with no upload, no account, and a report of every file saved

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

Loading mail into a review platform

A small law office needs a client’s archived correspondence in a document review platform that accepts EML files but has no way to read the client’s PST.

The paralegal filters the archive to the dates in the request, selects all results, and exports Email (.eml). The folder of EML files, named by date and subject, goes into the platform, and the JSON report lists every message and file hash.

Old mail into a different mail app

A freelancer who has moved away from Outlook wants years of project mail in the mail app on her new computer, which opens .eml files but has no PST import.

She opens the PST in PstVault, picks the project folders, and exports Email (.eml). Each message opens in the new app with its original sender, date, and attachments, and the PST stays untouched as a backup.

One approval email, attachments and all

A project lead needs to send an engineer the exact email that approved a design change, with its drawings attached, from a mailbox that was archived last year.

A Subject filter finds the thread, the message is selected, and Export files with Email (.eml) writes it with the drawings inside. The engineer double-clicks the file and reads it in his own mail app, attachments included.

Deep dive

What goes into each EML file PstVault writes

Headers rebuilt from the archive. A PST stores a message as properties, not as the original text of the email. PstVault rebuilds the headers from those properties: From and Sender, To, Cc, and Bcc, the date, the subject, the Message-ID, importance, and selected transport headers. The result is a standard internet message that mail programs read like any other.

Both bodies when the message had both. Many emails carry a plain-text and an HTML version of the same text. PstVault writes the bodies the message holds as alternatives, so a mail app can show the formatted version and fall back to plain text.

Pictures stay in place. Logos, signatures, and screenshots that sat inside the HTML body are written as related parts linked to the spots that reference them, so the message looks the way it did when it arrived.

Attachments travel inside. Every attachment stored with the message goes into the EML. An email that was attached to another email is rebuilt as an EML of its own inside its parent, so forwarded threads keep their structure.

Names that sort by time. Each file is named with the message date and time, then the subject, for example 2025-09-16 1640 - Site photos from Tuesday’s inspection.eml. A folder of exports reads in date order in File Explorer, and messages without a date are named undated.

Loose copies when you want them. Turn on Also save original attachments as files and every original, inline pictures included, is also saved beside its EML, named after the message, so the files can be opened without a mail app.

Native files for mixed folders. A selection that mixes mail, contacts, and calendar items can go out as Native files: EML for each message, VCF for each contact, and ICS for each calendar item, chosen per item by its type.

A report for the record. Every export writes a JSON report into the same folder with the source archive, the filters behind the selection, each item with its folder path, subject, format, and output file, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written.

Local and read-only. The PST is opened read-only and never written, existing files are never replaced, and PstVault makes no network connections. The 15-day free trial in the Microsoft Store has every feature.

How it is built

Built to read the archive and leave it exactly as it was.

Read-only by design

The PST is opened read-only and never written. Every export is a set of new files in the folder you choose, written under a temporary name and committed without replacing any existing file.

Nothing leaves your PC

PstVault runs in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities, makes no network connections, and has no account and no telemetry. Its HTML copies load no remote content.

A report for every export

Each export writes a JSON report with the source, the filters behind the selection, every item and the file it became, and the size and SHA-256 hash of each file written.

Head-to-head

How PstVault compares

Feature PstVault Forwarding each message Online converter
Original sender and date in the headers Yes, rebuilt from the PST Replaced by yours and the day you forward it Varies by service
Attachments inside each file Yes, and they can be saved beside it too Yes, one message at a time Varies by service
Many messages in one pass Yes, any selection or a whole folder One at a time Yes, after the PST is uploaded
File names that sort by date Yes, date and time first, then subject No files, the mail stays in a mailbox Varies by service
Where the mail goes Stays on this PC. Nothing uploads. Through a mail server Uploaded to the service
Record of what was converted JSON report with a SHA-256 hash per file The Sent folder Not usually

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

What is an EML file?

An EML file is one email saved in the standard internet message format: the headers, such as From, To, date, and subject, followed by the body and any attachments, all in one file. Desktop mail programs open EML files with a double-click, and many archiving and review tools import them. PstVault writes one EML per message you select from a PST.

Are attachments kept inside the EML files?

Yes. Every attachment stored with a message goes into its EML, pictures in the message body are written as related parts linked to their places, and an email attached to another email is rebuilt as an EML inside its parent. Turn on Also save original attachments as files to get every original as a separate file beside the EML as well.

How do I convert a whole PST folder to EML?

Open the PST in PstVault, select the folder in the tree, and choose Select all results. Choose Export files, set Format to Email (.eml), and pick Choose where to save. Each message becomes its own EML in that folder, named by date and subject, with a JSON report beside them. The filters apply to the selected folder and all of its subfolders.

What happens to the PST when PstVault opens it?

Nothing changes. PstVault opens the PST read-only and never writes, moves, or renames it, so the archive is the same after a hundred sessions as it was before the first. Exports are new files in a folder you choose: each one is written under a temporary name and then committed, and a file that already exists there is never replaced. Run another export from the same archive whenever you need a different format or selection.

Where does my mail go when I use PstVault?

Only to the folder you choose. PstVault runs on your PC in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities. It makes no network connections, has no account, and collects no telemetry. The preview shows message text, and the offline HTML copy loads no remote content and runs no scripts, so opening an old message never contacts anyone. Settings and the recent-file list stay in the app’s own local storage.

How do I get PstVault, and can I try it first?

PstVault is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, and the listing shows the current price in your currency. The Store runs a 15-day free trial with every feature, so you can open your own archive, search it, and export a test set before you buy. There is no subscription and nothing to activate in the app. It runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, on x64 and ARM64 PCs.

Related pages

From PST to PDF, with a bookmark for every message. Open a PST file without installing Outlook. The address book inside the PST, out as CSV or vCard.

The mail is already in the PST.
Get out the messages you need.

PstVault opens an Outlook PST without Outlook, finds mail by sender, recipient, subject, body, and date, and exports it as EML, PDF, offline HTML, vCard, ICS, or CSV with a JSON report of every file. The PST is never changed, nothing uploads, and the Microsoft Store runs a 15-day free trial.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Open full product page

Microsoft and Outlook are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. PstVault is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for procurement

Spec Implementation
Data Sovereignty Reads only the PST you open, read-only, from the Windows file picker or a File Explorer double-click; writes new files and the JSON export report only to the folder you choose, never replacing an existing file; settings and the recent-file list stay in the app’s own local storage
Telemetry Status None; no account, no telemetry, and the app makes no network connections
Core Runtime .NET 10 and WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK), packaged as MSIX; runs in an AppContainer with no declared capabilities; reads the PST with its own managed reader, with no Outlook or MAPI needed
Network Requirements Fully functional offline; the app makes no network connections
Deployment Compatibility Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, x64 or ARM64; one-time purchase on the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial
Inputs Outlook data files (.pst) in the Unicode format created by Outlook 2003 and later; open from the file picker, a File Explorer double-click, or the Recent list
Search Sender, subject, body, recipient, and a from and to date, across one folder and its subfolders or all folders; results listed newest first
Export formats Email (.eml), PDF reading copy, HTML reading copy, Contacts (.vcf, vCard 4.0), Calendar (.ics), Contact table (.csv), and Native files (EML, VCF, or ICS per item)
PDF options One PDF for the selection with a bookmark per item, or one PDF per item; Letter or A4; PDF, PNG, JPEG, and text attachments appended as pages; original attachments embedded
Attachments Save any attachment from the preview, or save every original, inline pictures included, beside its message on export
Export report JSON report per export: source, folder and filters, each item with its format and output file, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written, read back from the destination
System requirements 4 GB of RAM and 300 MB of disk space plus room for exports; 8 GB of RAM recommended for archives above 50,000 messages