Written by Jennifer Walsh. Reviewed for technical accuracy by Shubham Dixit, Independent Expert in Email Forensics and Data File Conversion.
Shubham is an independent external reviewer and not an employee of PCDOTS.
Quick answer. Zimbra keeps your mail on a server, so there are two free ways to get attachments out. In the web client, open a message and use Download or Download all to grab them as a zip. For the whole mailbox, export it as a .tgz, which holds your messages as .eml files. A tool extracts every attachment from that export at once.
On this page
Two free ways, by how much you have
First, a correction you will be glad to hear. It is sometimes said that Zimbra gives you no way to pull attachments out by hand, and that you can only forward messages one at a time. That is not true. The Zimbra Web Client lets you download attachments directly, and Zimbra can export your whole mailbox to a file you can open on your computer. Which route fits depends only on how much you need to get out.
A few attachments come from the web client, a whole mailbox from a .tgz export.
“The idea that Zimbra traps your attachments is a myth I hear often, and it is worth putting straight. The web client has a plain Download option, including download all as a zip, and the Import and Export screen writes your whole mailbox to a .tgz. In forensic work I lean on that .tgz because it captures everything in one go as .eml files. A converter only becomes worthwhile when the mailbox is large and I want every attachment pulled at once rather than opening messages by hand.” Shubham Dixit, Email Forensics reviewer (draft, pending approval)
A few, straight from the web client
If you only need attachments from one message or a handful, do it right in Zimbra Web Client. Open the message, and next to the attachments you will see a Download link for each one, plus an option to download all as a single zip. Save them wherever you like. To find the messages that have attachments in the first place, type has:attachment in the Zimbra search box and it lists them. This is the quickest free route when the job is small.
The whole mailbox, export a .tgz
When you want everything, Zimbra can hand you the lot in one file. In the web client go to Preferences, then Import / Export, and under Export choose your account or a folder and run it. Zimbra builds a .tgz archive and downloads it. Extract that archive with a tool like 7-Zip, and inside you will find your messages saved as .eml files, each one carrying its own attachments. The attachments are all there, they are just sitting inside the .eml files, so the last step is pulling them out of those, by hand for a few or with a tool for many.
The .tgz extracts to .eml files, with every attachment tucked inside them.
Every attachment at once, a tool
Opening hundreds of .eml files to save their attachments is the slow part, and that is the gap a tool fills. Point it at your Zimbra export and it reads every message and writes out all the attachments together, in their original formats, with no message opening at all. The PCDOTS Zimbra Converter does this on Windows, reading a Zimbra .tgz and saving every attachment across the mailbox in one pass, with a preview and a free version that handles the first ten attachments per folder so you can try it first.
The tool route, a Zimbra export to every attachment in one pass.
Here are the steps with the screens.
Step 1. Install and run the software on Windows, then open the menu.
Step 2. Choose the Zimbra option and load your export files or folder.
Step 3. Preview the folders, then open Extract and choose Attachments.
Step 4. Pick the Attachments option and Save to a destination folder.
If you want the mail itself in another shape, see our guides to save Zimbra emails as PDF and extract attachments from EML files, which is the very step the .tgz route leaves you at, and extract attachments from Gmail for the same job on Gmail.
The methods compared
Match the route to how much you need out.
| Method | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Web client Download | A few, free | Download all as a zip per message |
| Export a .tgz | The whole mailbox, free | Gives .eml files to open |
| Zimbra Converter tool | Many at once | Windows, one pass, no opening |
Frequently asked questions
Can I download attachments from Zimbra without any software?
Yes. Open a message in the Zimbra Web Client and use Download for a single attachment, or download all as a zip. There is no need for extra software for a few.
How do I get attachments from my whole Zimbra mailbox?
Use Preferences then Import / Export to export the account as a .tgz. Extract it, and you get .eml files with attachments inside, which you then save out.
Is it true you cannot extract Zimbra attachments manually?
No, that is a myth. The web client downloads attachments directly, and the export gives you the whole mailbox as files. Manual routes work fine for small jobs.
How do I find messages that have attachments?
Type has:attachment in the Zimbra search box. It filters the mailbox down to messages that carry an attachment.
What is inside a Zimbra .tgz export?
Your messages, saved as individual .eml files in their folder structure. Each .eml keeps its own attachments, so nothing is lost in the export.
When is a tool worth it for Zimbra attachments?
When the mailbox is large. A tool reads the whole export and saves every attachment at once, instead of opening each of hundreds of messages.
You are not stuck for a way out
Whatever you may have read, Zimbra does not lock your attachments in. For a few, the web client hands them over with a Download click, or a zip of all of them at once. For the whole account, the export writes everything to a .tgz you can open at home, and nothing is lost along the way. And when the mailbox is big enough that opening messages one by one would eat your afternoon, a tool clears the lot in a single pass. There is a free route for the small jobs and a fast route for the large ones, so the attachments are always within reach.
