Key points
- A Python script that turns a folder of .eml emails into HTML, Markdown, PDF, plain text and JSON, saves the attachments with their details, and counts the replies in each thread.
- You need Python 3 in a virtual environment, the libraries the script imports, and Pandoc for the Markdown step.
- Set
BASE_DIRECTORYat the top of the script first, and delete its unusedimport pkg_resourcesline.
Convert EML Files to HTML, Markdown, and PDF with Python
Updated October 2026: Before converting EML files with the script, set it up like this:
- Edit
BASE_DIRECTORYat the top of the script (/xxxxxxx/Emailsis a placeholder) and put your.emlfiles in itseml filessubfolder. The output folders are created inside the same base folder. - The script imports more libraries than the three named in the Quick Start, and the Markdown step calls Pandoc. On Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04, pip refuses to install packages into the system Python (PEP 668), so use a virtual environment, as in the commands below (my Python environment setup script can create one for you).
- Delete the line
import pkg_resources: the script never uses it, it is deprecated, and a new Python 3.12 or later virtual environment does not include setuptools, so that import fails.
sudo apt install python3-venv pandoc
python3 -m venv ~/eml2pdf-venv
. ~/eml2pdf-venv/bin/activate
pip install beautifulsoup4 markdown xhtml2pdf reportlab tabulate html5lib chardet
python eml2pdf.py
Python’s versatility makes it a powerful tool for file conversion tasks, such as transforming .eml files into multiple formats. This comprehensive Python script automates the process, allowing you to convert email files to HTML, Markdown, PDF, plain text, and JSON formats with ease.
What Is the EML to Multi-Format Conversion Script?
This Python script simplifies the conversion of .eml files while preserving email formatting, extracting attachments, and even analyzing email threads. It’s designed to handle large-scale email conversions efficiently and reliably.
Key Features of the Script
- Multi-Format Support: Converts emails to HTML, Markdown, PDF, plain text, and JSON.
- Attachment Extraction: Saves attachments and provides detailed metadata, including file size.
- Reply Counting: Tracks and counts replies in email threads for a comprehensive overview.
- HTML Cleanup: Removes images, confidentiality disclaimers and other footer text that you define in the pattern variables at the top of the script.
- Error Handling: Skips emails that cannot be parsed and lists them at the end of the run.
- Comprehensive Output: Combines processed emails into a single HTML file with an index.
How It Works
- Extracts Email Content:
- Reads
.emlfiles and extracts headers, body, and attachments. - Cleans up email content by removing images and the disclaimer text matched by its patterns.
- Reads
- Saves Individual and Combined Outputs:
- Saves each email as an HTML file with advanced styling.
- Combines all emails into a single HTML file with an index for easy navigation.
- Converts to Other Formats: Converts HTML files to Markdown, PDF, plain text, and JSON.
- Handles Attachments: Saves all attachments in a specified directory with detailed metadata.
Quick Start for Converting EML Files
- Prepare the Environment: Ensure Python 3, Pandoc and the required libraries (
beautifulsoup4,markdown,xhtml2pdf,reportlab,tabulate,html5lib,chardet) are installed; the commands are in the note at the top. - Run the Script:
python3 eml2pdf.py
- Process EML Files:
- Place your
.emlfiles in theeml filesfolder insideBASE_DIRECTORY. - Let the script handle conversion and output generation.
- Place your
- Access Results:
- View individual outputs in HTML, Markdown, PDF, plain text, or JSON formats.
- Navigate the combined HTML file for a structured overview of all emails.
Benefits
- Time-Saving: Automates complex email processing tasks.
- Enhanced Organization: Provides a structured overview of email data.
- Versatility: Supports multiple output formats for varied use cases.
- Reliability: Handles large-scale email conversions with accuracy.
Conclusion
This Python script is an efficient and reliable solution for converting .eml files into multiple formats. By automating email processing, it saves time and ensures clean, organized outputs. Leverage this script to streamline your email data management tasks and explore the power of Python for file conversions.
# =========================================
# Email to PDF Conversion Script
# =========================================
#
# Version: 1.1
# Script written by Warith AL Maawali
# (c) 2025
#
# Discord channel: https://discord.gg/KEFErEx
# Twitter: https://x.com/warith2020
# Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warith1977
# Website: https://www.digi77.com
#
# This script converts email files (.eml) to PDF format.
# It supports HTML, Markdown, and plain text content,
# preserves formatting, and extracts attachments.
#
# The resulting PDF includes the email body and
# information about any attachments present.
#
# This software is dual-licensed:
#
# Personal, non-commercial use: Apache License 2.0
# Commercial, corporate, or organizational use: Separate commercial license required.
# Contact me for licensing inquiries.
#
# Usage: python eml2pdf.py
# =========================================
# Changeable variables and sensitive words
BASE_DIRECTORY = "/xxxxxxx/Emails"
EML_DIRECTORY = "eml files"
HTML_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "html_output"
MARKDOWN_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "markdown_output"
PDF_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "pdf_output"
COMBINED_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "combined_output"
TEXT_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "text_output"
JSON_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = "json_output"
ATTACHMENTS_DIRECTORY = "attachments"
COMBINED_OUTPUT_FILENAME = "combined_emails"
PRIVATE_MESSAGE_PATTERN = r'This is a PRIVATE message.*?purpose\.'
RESTRICTED_DATA_PATTERN = r'External xxxxxxxx correspondence:.*?if it is obtained from another source without restriction\.'
CONFIDENTIALITY_START = "CONFIDENTIALITY: This email and any accompa"
# Import necessary libraries
import os
import email
from email import policy
from email.parser import BytesParser
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from reportlab.lib import colors
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph, Spacer, Table, TableStyle, KeepTogether
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet, ParagraphStyle
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from email.utils import getaddresses, parsedate_to_datetime
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.platypus.flowables import Flowable
from html import unescape, escape
import re
import pkg_resources
import datetime
import json
import markdown
from tabulate import tabulate
from html5lib import HTMLParser, parse
import subprocess
import sys
from xhtml2pdf import pisa
import logging
import chardet
# Set up logging
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s')
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
"""JSON serializer for objects not serializable by default json code"""
def json_serial(obj):
if isinstance(obj, datetime.datetime):
serial = obj.isoformat()
return serial
"""
Safe payload decoder that handles various encodings and errors gracefully
Args:
part: Email message part to decode
Returns:
str: Decoded text content or empty string if decoding fails
"""
def decode_payload(part):
try:
# Get the payload
payload = part.get_payload(decode=True)
# If payload is None, return empty string
if payload is None:
logger.warning("Empty payload encountered")
return ""
# Try to get charset from the part
charset = part.get_content_charset()
# If charset is specified, try to use it first
if charset:
try:
return payload.decode(charset)
except (UnicodeDecodeError, LookupError) as e:
logger.warning(f"Failed to decode with specified charset {charset}: {e}")
# Try common encodings in order of likelihood
encodings = ['utf-8', 'latin-1', 'windows-1252', 'iso-8859-1', 'ascii']
for encoding in encodings:
try:
return payload.decode(encoding)
except (UnicodeDecodeError, LookupError):
continue
# If all encodings fail, try to detect encoding using chardet
try:
detected = chardet.detect(payload)
if detected and detected.get('encoding'):
try:
return payload.decode(detected['encoding'])
except (UnicodeDecodeError, LookupError) as e:
logger.warning(f"Failed to decode with detected encoding {detected['encoding']}: {e}")
except Exception as e:
logger.warning(f"Charset detection failed: {e}")
# Last resort: decode with errors='ignore'
logger.warning("All decoding attempts failed, using UTF-8 with errors='ignore'")
return payload.decode('utf-8', errors='ignore')
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"Unexpected error in decode_payload: {e}")
return ""
"""
Extract content from an email file (.eml)
Args:
eml_file (str): Path to the .eml file
Returns:
tuple: (date, html_content, subject, reply_count)
"""
def extract_email_content(eml_file):
try:
with open(eml_file, 'rb') as email_file:
email_message = BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parse(email_file)
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"Failed to parse email file {eml_file}: {e}")
raise
# Extract header information
sender = email_message['From']
subject = email_message['Subject']
date = email_message['Date']
message_id = email_message['Message-ID']
# Extract attachments
attachments = []
for part in email_message.walk():
if part.get_content_maintype() == 'multipart':
continue
if part.get('Content-Disposition') is None:
continue
filename = part.get_filename()
if filename:
try:
payload = part.get_payload(decode=True)
if payload:
size = len(payload)
size_str = f"{size / 1024:.2f} KB" if size < 1024 * 1024 else f"{size / (1024 * 1024):.2f} MB"
attachments.append(f"{filename} ({size_str})")
# Extract and save attachment
attachments_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, ATTACHMENTS_DIRECTORY)
if not os.path.exists(attachments_directory):
os.makedirs(attachments_directory)
filepath = os.path.join(attachments_directory, os.path.basename(filename))
with open(filepath, 'wb') as f:
f.write(payload)
logger.info(f"Saved attachment: {filepath}")
except Exception as e:
logger.warning(f"Failed to extract attachment {filename}: {e}")
attachments.append(f"{filename} (extraction failed)")
content = []
private_message_pattern = re.compile(PRIVATE_MESSAGE_PATTERN, re.DOTALL)
restricted_data_pattern = re.compile(RESTRICTED_DATA_PATTERN, re.DOTALL)
# Process multipart emails
if email_message.is_multipart():
for part in email_message.walk():
try:
content_type = part.get_content_type()
if content_type == 'text/plain':
part_content = decode_payload(part)
if part_content:
part_content = private_message_pattern.sub('', part_content)
part_content = restricted_data_pattern.sub('', part_content)
content.append(part_content)
elif content_type == 'text/html':
html_content = decode_payload(part)
if html_content:
soup = BeautifulSoup(html_content, 'html.parser')
for img in soup.find_all('img'):
img.decompose()
for p in soup.find_all('p'):
if p.text.startswith("National Security Services Group ") or p.text.startswith(CONFIDENTIALITY_START):
p.decompose()
plain_content = soup.get_text()
plain_content = private_message_pattern.sub('', plain_content)
plain_content = restricted_data_pattern.sub('', plain_content)
content.append(plain_content)
except Exception as e:
logger.warning(f"Error processing multipart email part: {e}")
continue
else:
# Process non-multipart emails
try:
content_type = email_message.get_content_type()
if content_type == 'text/plain':
email_content = decode_payload(email_message)
if email_content:
email_content = private_message_pattern.sub('', email_content)
email_content = restricted_data_pattern.sub('', email_content)
content.append(email_content)
elif content_type == 'text/html':
html_content = decode_payload(email_message)
if html_content:
soup = BeautifulSoup(html_content, 'html.parser')
for img in soup.find_all('img'):
img.decompose()
for p in soup.find_all('p'):
if p.text.startswith("National Security Services Group ") or p.text.startswith(CONFIDENTIALITY_START):
p.decompose()
plain_content = soup.get_text()
plain_content = private_message_pattern.sub('', plain_content)
plain_content = restricted_data_pattern.sub('', plain_content)
content.append(plain_content)
except Exception as e:
logger.warning(f"Error processing non-multipart email: {e}")
# Create header in markdown format
header = "# Email Details\n\n"
header += f"| Field | Value |\n|-------|-------|\n"
header += f"| From | {sender} |\n"
header += f"| Subject | {subject} |\n"
header += f"| Date | {date} |\n"
header += f"| Message-ID | {message_id} |\n"
if attachments:
header += f"| Attachments | {', '.join(attachments)} |\n"
full_content = header + '\n\n## Email Body\n\n' + '\n'.join(content)
# Convert markdown to HTML with advanced styling
html_content = markdown.markdown(full_content, extensions=['tables', 'fenced_code', 'codehilite'])
"""Count the number of replies in an email body"""
def count_replies(body):
wrote_pattern = r"wrote:"
matches = re.findall(wrote_pattern, body, re.IGNORECASE)
return len(matches)
# Count replies
reply_count = count_replies('\n'.join(content))
return date, html_content, subject, reply_count
"""
Save email content as an HTML file with advanced styling
Args:
email_content (str): HTML content of the email
output_file (str): Path to save the HTML file
"""
def save_email_content(email_content, output_file):
# Add some advanced styling
styled_html = f"""
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Email Content</title>
<style>
body {{
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #333;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
}}
h1, h2, h3 {{
color: #2c3e50;
}}
table {{
border-collapse: collapse;
width: 100%;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}}
th, td {{
border: 1px solid #ddd;
padding: 12px;
text-align: left;
}}
tr:nth-child(even) {{
background-color: #f2f2f2;
}}
th {{
background-color: #3498db;
color: white;
}}
pre {{
background-color: #f8f8f8;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
border-radius: 3px;
padding: 10px;
overflow-x: auto;
}}
code {{
font-family: Consolas, Monaco, 'Andale Mono', 'Ubuntu Mono', monospace;
font-size: 0.9em;
}}
blockquote {{
border-left: 4px solid #3498db;
padding-left: 15px;
color: #777;
font-style: italic;
}}
</style>
</head>
<body>
{email_content}
</body>
</html>
"""
# Validate HTML
parser = HTMLParser(strict=True)
dom = parse(styled_html)
with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
f.write(styled_html)
"""
Save all emails to a single HTML file with advanced styling and an index
Args:
email_data (list): List of tuples containing email data
output_file (str): Path to save the combined HTML file
"""
def save_all_emails_to_one_file(email_data, output_file):
# Add some advanced styling
combined_html = f"""
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Combined Emails</title>
<style>
body {{
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #333;
width: 100%;
margin: 0;
padding: 20px;
box-sizing: border-box;
}}
.container {{
max-width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
}}
h1, h2, h3 {{
color: #2c3e50;
}}
table {{
border-collapse: collapse;
width: 80%;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}}
th, td {{
border: 1px solid #ddd;
padding: 12px;
text-align: left;
}}
tr:nth-child(even) {{
background-color: #f2f2f2;
}}
th {{
background-color: #3498db;
color: white;
}}
pre {{
background-color: #f8f8f8;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
border-radius: 3px;
padding: 10px;
overflow-x: auto;
white-space: pre-wrap;
word-wrap: break-word;
}}
code {{
font-family: Consolas, Monaco, 'Andale Mono', 'Ubuntu Mono', monospace;
font-size: 0.9em;
}}
blockquote {{
border-left: 4px solid #3498db;
padding-left: 15px;
color: #777;
font-style: italic;
}}
a {{
color: #3498db;
text-decoration: none;
}}
a:hover {{
text-decoration: underline;
}}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Email Index</h1>
<table>
<tr><th>#</th><th>Date</th><th>Subject</th><th>EML File</th><th>Replies</th></tr>
"""
for idx, (date, filename, email_content, subject, reply_count) in enumerate(email_data, 1):
formatted_date = parsedate_to_datetime(date).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
combined_html += f"<tr><td>{idx}</td><td>{formatted_date}</td><td><a href='#email-{idx}'>{subject}</a></td><td>{filename}</td><td>{reply_count}</td></tr>\n"
combined_html += "</table><hr>\n"
for idx, (date, filename, email_content, subject, reply_count) in enumerate(email_data, 1):
formatted_date = parsedate_to_datetime(date).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
combined_html += f"<h2 id='email-{idx}'>{idx}. Email from {formatted_date}</h2>\n<hr>\n{email_content}\n<br><br>\n"
combined_html += """
</body>
</html>
"""
# Validate HTML
parser = HTMLParser(strict=True)
dom = parse(combined_html)
with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
f.write(combined_html)
"""
Convert HTML file to Markdown using Pandoc
Args:
html_file (str): Path to the input HTML file
md_file (str): Path to save the output Markdown file
"""
def convert_to_markdown(html_file, md_file):
try:
subprocess.run(['pandoc', '-f', 'html', '-t', 'markdown', '-o', md_file, html_file], check=True)
print(f"Successfully converted {html_file} to {md_file}")
except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
print(f"Error converting {html_file} to Markdown: {e}")
except FileNotFoundError:
print("Error: Pandoc is not installed or not in the system PATH.")
print("Please install Pandoc and make sure it's accessible from the command line.")
print("You can install Pandoc using the following steps:")
print("1. For Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install pandoc")
print("2. For macOS with Homebrew: brew install pandoc")
print("3. For Windows: Download the installer from https://pandoc.org/installing.html")
print("After installation, restart your terminal or IDE to update the PATH.")
sys.exit(1)
"""
Convert HTML file to PDF using pisa (xhtml2pdf)
Args:
html_file (str): Path to the input HTML file
pdf_file (str): Path to save the output PDF file
"""
def convert_to_pdf(html_file, pdf_file):
with open(html_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
html_content = f.read()
with open(pdf_file, 'wb') as f:
pisa.CreatePDF(html_content, dest=f)
print(f"Successfully converted {html_file} to PDF: {pdf_file}")
"""
Convert HTML file to plain text
Args:
html_file (str): Path to the input HTML file
txt_file (str): Path to save the output text file
"""
def convert_to_text(html_file, txt_file):
with open(html_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
soup = BeautifulSoup(f, 'html.parser')
text_content = soup.get_text()
with open(txt_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
f.write(text_content)
print(f"Successfully converted {html_file} to text: {txt_file}")
"""
Convert HTML file to JSON
Args:
html_file (str): Path to the input HTML file
json_file (str): Path to save the output JSON file
"""
def convert_to_json(html_file, json_file):
with open(html_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
soup = BeautifulSoup(f, 'html.parser')
data = {
'title': soup.title.string if soup.title else '',
'body': soup.body.get_text() if soup.body else ''
}
with open(json_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
json.dump(data, f, ensure_ascii=False, indent=4)
print(f"Successfully converted {html_file} to JSON: {json_file}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
eml_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, EML_DIRECTORY)
html_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, HTML_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
markdown_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, MARKDOWN_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
pdf_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, PDF_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
combined_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, COMBINED_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
text_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, TEXT_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
json_output_directory = os.path.join(BASE_DIRECTORY, JSON_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY)
# Create output directories if they don't exist
for directory in [html_output_directory, markdown_output_directory, pdf_output_directory,
combined_output_directory, text_output_directory, json_output_directory]:
os.makedirs(directory, exist_ok=True)
combined_output_file = os.path.join(combined_output_directory, "combined_emails.html")
combined_md_file = os.path.join(combined_output_directory, "combined_emails.md")
combined_pdf_file = os.path.join(combined_output_directory, "combined_emails.pdf")
combined_txt_file = os.path.join(combined_output_directory, "combined_emails.txt")
combined_json_file = os.path.join(combined_output_directory, "combined_emails.json")
email_data = []
failed_emails = []
for filename in os.listdir(eml_directory):
if filename.endswith(".eml"):
eml_file = os.path.join(eml_directory, filename)
try:
logger.info(f"Processing {filename}")
date, email_content, subject, reply_count = extract_email_content(eml_file)
# Only add to email_data if we got valid content
if email_content and date and subject is not None:
email_data.append((date, filename, email_content, subject, reply_count))
output_file = os.path.join(html_output_directory, os.path.splitext(filename)[0] + ".html")
save_email_content(email_content, output_file)
print(f"Saved content of {filename} to {output_file}")
else:
logger.warning(f"Skipping {filename} due to missing content")
failed_emails.append(filename)
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"Failed to process {filename}: {e}")
failed_emails.append(filename)
continue
# Report any failed emails
if failed_emails:
print(f"\nWarning: Failed to process {len(failed_emails)} email(s):")
for failed in failed_emails:
print(f" - {failed}")
print()
# Sort emails by date
email_data.sort(key=lambda x: email.utils.parsedate_to_datetime(x[0]))
save_all_emails_to_one_file(email_data, combined_output_file)
print(f"Saved combined content to {combined_output_file}")
# Convert HTML files to other formats
for filename in os.listdir(html_output_directory):
if filename.endswith(".html"):
html_file = os.path.join(html_output_directory, filename)
base_name = os.path.splitext(filename)[0]
md_file = os.path.join(markdown_output_directory, base_name + ".md")
convert_to_markdown(html_file, md_file)
pdf_file = os.path.join(pdf_output_directory, base_name + ".pdf")
convert_to_pdf(html_file, pdf_file)
txt_file = os.path.join(text_output_directory, base_name + ".txt")
convert_to_text(html_file, txt_file)
json_file = os.path.join(json_output_directory, base_name + ".json")
convert_to_json(html_file, json_file)
# Convert combined HTML file to other formats
convert_to_markdown(combined_output_file, combined_md_file)
print(f"Converted combined HTML to Markdown: {combined_md_file}")
convert_to_pdf(combined_output_file, combined_pdf_file)
print(f"Converted combined HTML to PDF: {combined_pdf_file}")
convert_to_text(combined_output_file, combined_txt_file)
print(f"Converted combined HTML to text: {combined_txt_file}")
convert_to_json(combined_output_file, combined_json_file)
print(f"Converted combined HTML to JSON: {combined_json_file}")Python