Needle in a Haystack
Tutorials – Attachment Extraction
If your inbox is full of email messages with important attachments, retrieving those attachments manually can be a tedious task. The script presented in this article does this task automatically and can even save the email as a plain text file.
Do you ever find yourself urgently searching for a file that you know you received as an email attachment but do not remember who sent it or when? Has your company saved all the important documents received via email somewhere easily retrievable? Would you like to save the content of all your email messages automatically as separate, plain text files?
Being able to copy automatically, into one folder and as separate files, all the email attachments and message bodies hidden in your email archives might save your day in situations like these. This tutorial explains how to do it with one relatively simple shell script and tools available from the standard repositories of most Linux distributions. Only basic knowledge of shell scripts is necessary. Additionally, patching the script to make it save just the attachment is also very easy.
MIME and Mailbox Formats
To process email messages, you need to know how files are attached to email and how email messages are archived inside digital mailboxes. To extract attachments from one email message, you need a MIME-aware processor that can split all the email's parts into separate files. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) [1] is the open standard that describes how to:
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Framework Laptop 13 Pro Competes with the Best
Framework has released what might be considered the MacBook of Linux devices.
-
The Latest CachyOS Features Supercharged Kernel
The latest release of CachyOS brings with it an enhanced version of the latest Linux kernel.
-
Kernel 7.0 Is a Bit More Rusty
Linux kernel 7.0 has been released for general availability, with Rust finally getting its due.
-
France Says "Au Revoir" to Microsoft
In a move that should surprise no one, France announced plans to reduce its reliance on US technology, and Microsoft Windows is the first to get the boot.
-
CIQ Releases Compatibility Catalog for Rocky Linux
The company behind Rocky Linux is making an open catalog available to developers, hobbyists, and other contributors, so they can verify and publish compatibility with the CIQ lineup.
-
KDE Gets Some Resuscitation
KDE is bringing back two themes that vanished a few years ago, putting a bit more air under its wings.
-
Ubuntu 26.04 Beta Arrives with Some Surprises
Ubuntu 26.04 is almost here, but the beta version has been released, and it might surprise some people.
-
Ubuntu MATE Dev Leaving After 12 years
Martin Wimpress, the maintainer of Ubuntu MATE, is now searching for his successor. Are you the next in line?
-
Kali Linux Waxes Nostalgic with BackTrack Mode
For those who've used Kali Linux since its inception, the changes with the new release are sure to put a smile on your face.
-
Gnome 50 Smooths Out NVIDIA GPU Issues
Gamers rejoice, your favorite pastime just got better with Gnome 50 and NVIDIA GPUs.