Download All Attachments From a Single Email in Gmail
If the files you want to download are all within a single email, you can save the files to your computer from Gmail in just a few steps.
- Sign into Gmail and open the email containing the attachments.
- Click the Download all attachments button (down arrow) at the bottom of the email body.
- Open your Downloads folder or browser download location to access the ZIP file.
📌 Note: You can also save the files to Google Drive instead of your local device. This is convenient if you want to download all photo attachments in Gmail for simple sharing via Google Drive later.
Download All Attachments From Multiple Emails in Gmail
Maybe you have multiple emails or threads containing the files you want to download. Luckily, you don’t have to find and open each separate message in Gmail to save the attachments. Instead, you can use a workaround.
- Sign into Gmail and locate the emails with one of the following:
- Click the Show search options button, select Has attachment, and press Search.
- Enter the search term: has:attachment in the Search box and press Enter or Return.
- When you receive the results, use the checkboxes to select all emails containing the attachments.
- Open the More menu (three dots) in the toolbar or right-click.
- Choose Forward as attachment.
- Send the email to yourself.
- Click the Download all attachments button when you receive the email.
- Open your Downloads folder or browser download location to access the ZIP file.
💡 Tip: Because the message you forward to yourself as an attachment will be sizeable, learn additional ways to send large files via email.
Download All Email Attachments in Gmail (Entire Mailbox)
Do you want to perform a one-time cleanup by saving all files to your device and then deleting the attachments from Gmail? If you want to download all attachments from your entire mailbox, you have a couple of options.
Google Takeout
Google Takeout is a free tool you can use to obtain your data from various Google services like Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive, and YouTube. With it, you can download a copy of all email data including attachments.
- Visit Google Takeout and sign into your account.
- Click Deselect all at the top.
- Scroll down and check the box for Mail along with any other data you’d like.
- Optionally, select All Mail data included to pick specific labels for the export.
- Click Next step.
- Adjust the Destination, Frequency, and File type & size per your preferences.
- Click Create export.
Note that it can take hours or even days to receive the data, depending on your mailbox size.
Third-Party Tools
Another option is to use a third-party app. The ability to download email attachments from Gmail is a feature of many backup tools, making this a good option if you’re interested in saving additional data.
Here are a few data backup tools you can review to get started:
| Availability | Cost | Extras |
|---|---|---|
| Web-based | Free for 50 emails per month with plans starting at $59.99 yearly |
|
| Windows and Mac | $29 for Windows or Mac |
|
| Windows and Mac | $29 for Windows $39 for Mac |
|
Download All Attachments in Gmail on Android
If you’re using Gmail on your Android phone and want to download attachments to that device, your options are unfortunately limited. There isn’t currently a “download all attachments” button like in Gmail’s web application.
Instead, you must download files and photos one-by-one. To save time down the road, you can also enable the automatic download feature which works for future messages when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
Download Attachments From an Email
- Launch the Gmail app on Android.
- Open the email containing the attachments.
- Tap the Download button (down arrow) on the attachment.
- Repeat until you’ve downloaded all attachments.
Download Attachments Automatically
- Launch the Gmail app and open the left-hand Menu.
- Select Settings.
- Choose your account.
- Check the box for Download attachments in the Data Usage section.
📌 Note: After you download attachments on Android, whether manually or automatically, open Files and choose Downloads. You can then view, share, move, or copy a file.
Post Download Cleanup with Clean Email
Once you download the files you need in Gmail, you can likely archive, delete, or move those emails out of your inbox. This is especially important if you need to regain storage space or need better organization.
When you use Clean Email for Gmail, you can speed up your cleanup using bulk actions to manage messages and taking advantage of smart features for automated cleaning.
Auto Clean: Create mailbox rules to do things like automatically archive messages with attachments and pick the size, delete emails based on their age (e.g. 12 months), and move/label messages with certain keywords.
Cleaning Suggestions: Receive recommendations for cleaning up your mailbox based on your previous actions or those most-commonly used. These suggestions let you act on groups of emails for a quick decluttering.
Bulk Actions: Select and act on certain messages or all emails at once without continuous scrolling or loading of messages. For example, you can sort Gmail emails by size and then delete the large messages in one fell swoop.
Clean Email is safe to use with a commitment to your privacy and security. The app is available on Mac desktop, mobile devices, and as a web app for any IMAP service provider.
Conclusion
While Gmail limits the size of attachments, those large files can put a strain on your mailbox as they pile up over time. So, whether you want to download files to your computer for convenience or for a mailbox cleanup to regain storage space, you have a few options.
And once you save the files you need, you can use Clean Email to quickly, easily, and even automatically manage the messages. Plus, you can maintain a neat and tidy inbox on any device moving forward with Clean Email’s smart features!
