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Seed Gmail with Google Takeout.

This optional step lets Horcrux reuse mail you already exported instead of downloading every matching message through Gmail. You can skip it during setup and import the MBOX later from Manage Account.

Why seed the first backup?

A large first backup can take time over IMAP. Google documents a daily IMAP download bandwidth limit for Google Workspace accounts, and notes that limits may change without notice. Seeding gives Horcrux a local copy to use when the message identifiers match.

Read Google’s Gmail bandwidth-limit documentation

Export Mail from Google Takeout

  1. Open Google Takeout.
  2. Choose Deselect all, then select only Mail.
  3. Continue and choose Export once.
  4. Create the export and wait for Google to finish it.
  5. Download and expand the completed archive.
Google Takeout with only Mail selected for export
Select only Mail. Google exports messages and attachments in MBOX format.
The export can take a while

Google may need several hours or longer, depending on the size of the account. You do not need to keep Horcrux open while Google prepares it.

Import the MBOX into Horcrux

Return to the Gmail setup in Horcrux and choose the downloaded .mbox file. Horcrux uses matching messages to seed the first backup.

If you skipped this step, open Manage Account, choose Imported Mail, and import the MBOX there before running the backup.

Your original export is unchanged

Horcrux reads the selected MBOX. It does not modify or delete the Google Takeout archive.