Guide
How to download a Gmail email as .eml
Gmail can save any email as a file you can keep, share or turn into a PDF. It takes two clicks on a computer.
Updated 29 October 2026 · 2 min read
On a computer
- Open the email in Gmail.
- Click the three dots next to Reply, at the top right of the message.
- Choose Download message. Gmail saves it as an .eml file.
In a conversation, open the message you want first: each message downloads as its own file.
On a phone
The Gmail app can't download a message as a file. Open gmail.com in your phone's browser, switch to the desktop version, and follow the steps above. Or forward the email to yourself as an attachment from a computer.
What's in the .eml file
Everything: the sender, recipients, date and subject, the message with its pictures, and every attachment. It is the standard format for an email, so it can be opened again later, even outside Gmail.
What to do with it next
- Read it on any device with the EML viewer.
- Turn it into a clean PDF with its attachments in the EML to PDF converter.
- Pull out its attachments with Extract attachments.
Each one works in your browser, so we never see your email.
Got your .eml file?
Convert it to PDF