Can one splice a mac mail database into separate parts

The joys of dealing with a large email database!

Yes, it is possible to split a Mac Mail database into separate parts. Here are a few methods to achieve this:

Method 1: Using the built-in "Export" feature

  1. Open Mac Mail and select the mailbox you want to split.
  2. Go to File > Export > Export Mailbox.
  3. Choose a location to save the exported mailbox and select the "Export as" option.
  4. Choose "MBOX" as the format, which will allow you to import the mailbox into another email client or merge it with another mailbox.
  5. Repeat the process for each mailbox you want to split.

Method 2: Using the "mbox" command-line tool

  1. Open the Terminal app on your Mac.
  2. Navigate to the location of your Mac Mail database (usually ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData).
  3. Use the mbox command to extract a specific mailbox or a range of mailboxes:
    mbox -o output.mbox -s <start> -e <end> <mailbox_name>

    Replace <start> and <end> with the desired range of messages, and <mailbox_name> with the name of the mailbox you want to extract.

For example, to extract the first 100 messages from the "Inbox" mailbox:

mbox -o output.mbox -s 1 -e 100 Inbox
  1. Repeat the process for each mailbox you want to split.

Method 3: Using a third-party tool

There are several third-party tools available that can help you split a Mac Mail database, such as:

Please note that these methods may not work seamlessly, and you may need to manually merge or reorganize the exported mailboxes to achieve the desired result.

Before attempting to split your Mac Mail database, make sure to back up your data to prevent any potential loss or corruption.