extract-msg: Outlook MSG File Extractor

Warnings

• gotcha The default `maxNameLength` for filenames when saving attachments or message data has changed from 256 to 40 characters in version 0.55.0. If you relied on longer filenames by default, your saved files might now be truncated.
  Fix: Explicitly set `maxNameLength` in `attachment.save()` or `MessageBase.save()` methods if you require longer filenames, e.g., `attachment.save(maxNameLength=256)`.
• breaking The prepared HTML output (e.g., via `msg.htmlBody`) changed in version 0.54.0 to use plainly encoded HTML instead of a prettified format. If your application parsed or relied on the structure of the prettified HTML, this change may affect you.
  Fix: Adjust your HTML parsing logic to account for the change to plain HTML. If prettification is desired, you may need to apply a separate HTML prettifier (e.g., `BeautifulSoup`) after extraction.
• gotcha Prior to version 0.55.0, if `openMsg()` or `Message` (when opening specific OLE files that weren't standard MSG) was used without a context manager (`with...as`), the underlying OLE file handle might not be closed, leading to resource leaks. While `openMsg()` was fixed internally in 0.55.0, it's a good practice to always use context managers.
  Fix: Always use the `with Message(...) as msg:` context manager pattern to ensure files are properly closed and resources are released, even if the file is a plain OLE file. If you are manually handling `MSGFile` objects, ensure `close()` is called.
• gotcha Encoding issues, particularly with child/embedded MSG files and their interaction with the parent's encoding, have been a source of bugs (e.g., fixed in v0.54.1, v0.52.0). While fixes are implemented, be aware that complex nested MSG structures or malformed files can still present encoding challenges.
  Fix: Ensure your environment's locale settings are appropriate for the expected encodings. Report specific malformed files to the library maintainers if issues persist after updating to the latest version. The library continuously improves its handling of diverse encodings.

Install

• pip install extract-msg Install latest version

Imports

• Message

  from extract_msg import Message

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to open an MSG file, access its subject, sender, date, and body, and save any attached files. It uses a context manager (`with Message(...) as msg:`) to ensure proper resource handling.

import os
from extract_msg import Message

# Create a dummy .msg file for demonstration
# In a real scenario, you'd replace 'example.msg' with your actual file path
# This part is just to make the example runnable without an actual .msg file present initially
# A real .msg file structure is complex and cannot be simply created like this.
# Assume 'example.msg' exists and contains an Outlook message.
# For testing, you might use a pre-existing sample .msg file.

msg_file_path = 'example.msg'
if not os.path.exists(msg_file_path):
    # This part would typically be replaced by pointing to an actual .msg file.
    # For a truly runnable example, one would need a sample .msg file.
    print(f"Please create a file named '{msg_file_path}' containing a valid Outlook .msg email to run this example.")
    print("Using a placeholder for demonstration purposes.")
    # Exit or handle gracefully if no .msg file is found for testing.
    # For this example, we'll proceed assuming it will fail, or a real file exists.


try:
    with Message(msg_file_path) as msg:
        print(f"Subject: {msg.subject}")
        print(f"Sender: {msg.sender}")
        print(f"Date: {msg.date}")
        print(f"Body (plain text):\n{msg.body[:200]}...") # Print first 200 chars

        if msg.attachments:
            print(f"\nAttachments found: {len(msg.attachments)}")
            output_dir = 'attachments_output'
            os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
            for attachment in msg.attachments:
                filename = attachment.longFilename or attachment.shortFilename
                if filename:
                    try:
                        attachment.save(customPath=output_dir, raw=False)
                        print(f"  Saved attachment: {filename}")
                    except Exception as e:
                        print(f"  Error saving attachment {filename}: {e}")
        else:
            print("\nNo attachments.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print(f"Error: The file '{msg_file_path}' was not found. Please ensure it exists.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred while processing the MSG file: {e}")