How to Extract Email Addresses from Thunderbird?

To extract email addresses from Thunderbird, you can export them directly from your Address Book by opening Address Book → Tools → Export, then saving the contacts as a CSV or LDIF file that you can open in a spreadsheet to isolate the addresses. If you need addresses from messages rather than saved contacts, install an add-on such as Extract Address or Email Address Crawler from Tools → Add-ons and Themes, then run it on selected folders to automatically gather all sender and recipient addresses into a text or CSV file. For small jobs, you can also select multiple messages, right-click, and choose Copy Email Address to paste them wherever you need.

Why Extract Email Addresses from Thunderbird?

Before diving into the “how,” let’s briefly discuss the “why.” There are several reasons why you might want to extract email addresses from Thunderbird:

1. Backup: Creating a backup of your contacts ensures that you don’t lose important email addresses in case of data loss.
2. Migration: If you’re switching to a new email client or service, you’ll need to export your contacts.
3. Marketing: If you’re running an email marketing campaign, you might need to extract email addresses from your Thunderbird contacts.
4. Organization: Extracting email addresses can help you organize your contacts more effectively, especially if you have a large list.

Read more: How to Extract Email Addresses from Thunderbird