READPST(1)

💖 READPST — the libpst Utilities glow-up 💖

ok so bestie, welcome to readpst(1), part of the libpst Utilities, Version 0.6. this is the manual page and it's gonna be a whole journey, so grab a boba 🧋 and let's go.

✨ NAME ✨

readpst — convert PST (MS Outlook Personal Folders) files to mbox and other formats

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

readpst [-C default-charset] [-D] [-M] [-S] [-V]
        [-a attachment-extension-list] [-b] [-c format] [-d debug-file]
        [-e] [-h] [-j jobs] [-k] [-m] [-o output-directory] [-q] [-r]
        [-t output-type-codes] [-u] [-w] [-8] pstfile

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

ok so readpst is that girl 💅 — she reads an Outlook PST (Personal Folders) file and converts it into an mbox file, a format suitable for KMail, a recursive mbox structure, or separate emails. literally so versatile, we love a multi-hyphenate 👑

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -C default-charset — sets the character set to be used for items with an unspecified character set. no vibes left ambiguous ✨
• -D — include deleted items in the output. yes bestie, the ghosts are invited too 💀
• -M — output messages in MH (rfc822) format as separate files. this will create folders as named in the PST file, and will put each email together with any attachments into its own file. these files will be numbered from 1 to n with no leading zeros. this format has no from quoting. periodt.
• -S — output messages into separate files. this will create folders as named in the PST file, and will put each email in its own file. these files will be numbered from 1 to n with no leading zeros. attachments will also be saved in the same folder as the email message. the attachments for message $m are saved as $m-$name where $name is (the original name of the attachment, or 'attach$n' if the attachment had no name), where $n is another sequential index with no leading zeros. this format has no from quoting.
• -V — show program version and exit. short, sweet, iconic 🎀
• -a attachment-extension-list — set the list of acceptable attachment extensions. any attachment that does not have an extension on this list will be discarded. all attachments are acceptable if the list is empty, or this option is not specified. it's giving strict gatekeeper energy 🚪✨
• -b — do not save the attachments for the RTF format of the email body.
• -c format — set the Contact output mode. use -cv for vcard format or -cl for an email list.
• -d debug-file — specify name of debug log file. the log file is now an ascii file, instead of the binary file used in previous versions. glow-up fr fr 📝
• -e — same as the M option, but each output file will include an extension from (.eml, .ics, .vcf). this format has no from quoting.
• -h — show summary of options and exit. help a bestie out 🫶
• -j jobs — specifies the maximum number of parallel jobs. specify 0 to suppress running parallel jobs. folders may be processed in parallel. output formats that place each mail message in a separate file (-M, -S, -e) may process the contents of individual folders in parallel. multitasking queen 👑
• -k — changes the output format to KMail. this format uses mboxrd from quoting.
• -m — same as the e option, but write .msg files also.
• -o output-directory — specifies the output directory. the directory must already exist, and is entered after the PST file is opened, but before any processing of files commences. no, she will not make the folder for you, she is not your mom 😭
• -q — changes to silent mode. no feedback is printed to the screen, except for error messages. stealth mode activated 🤫
• -r — changes the output format to Recursive. this will create folders as named in the PST file, and will put all emails in a file called "mbox" inside each folder. appointments go into a file called "calendar", address book entries go into a file called "contacts", and journal entries go into a file called "journal". these files are then compatible with all mbox-compatible email clients. this format uses mboxrd from quoting.
• -t output-type-codes — specifies the item types that are processed. the argument is a sequence of single letters from (e,a,j,c) for (email, appointment, journal, contact) types. the default is to process all item types. pick your faves, no cap 💖
• -u — sets Thunderbird mode, a submode of recursive mode. this causes two extra .type and .size meta files to be created. this format uses mboxrd from quoting.
• -w — overwrite any previous output files.

beware ⚠️: when used with the -S switch, this will remove all files from the target folder before writing. this is to keep the count of emails and attachments correct. like, she's thorough, but she's also ruthless 💀

• -8 — output bodies in UTF-8, rather than original encoding, if a UTF-8 version is available.

🌈 FROM QUOTING 🌈

output formats that place each mail message in a separate file (-M, -S, -e, -m) don't do any from quoting. output formats that place multiple email messages in a single file (-k, -r, -u) now use mboxrd from quoting rules. if none of those switches are specified, the default output format uses mboxrd from quoting rules, since it produces multiple email messages in a single file. earlier versions used mboxo from quoting rules for all output formats. the way that they updated the quoting rules… history, honestly 📜✨

💜 AUTHOR 💜

this manual page was originally written by Dave Smith <dave.s@earthcorp.com>, and updated by Joe Nahmias <joe@nahmias.net> for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others). it was subsequently updated by Brad Hards <bradh@frogmouth.net>, and converted to xml format by Carl Byington <carl@five-ten-sg.com>. a whole collaborative slay, we stan a group project that actually worked 🫶

⭐ COPYRIGHT ⭐

Copyright (C) 2002 by David Smith <dave.s@earthcorp.com>. XML version Copyright (C) 2008 by 510 Software Group <carl@five-ten-sg.com>.

this program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version.

you should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; see the file COPYING. if not, please write to the Free Software Foundation, 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

👑 VERSION 👑

0.6.76

and that's the whole thing bestie 💖 version 0.6.76, dated 2017-12-07, living under the readpst(1) banner in the libpst Utilities — periodt, no cap, go convert some PSTs 🧚✨