Copying all your Thunderbird email data

You can copy your Thunderbird data to a new computer (or other location) with a simple 4-step procedure that copies your Profile and then tells Thunderbird where to find your Profile. In Thunderbird your Profile is a set of computer files containing your personal information including messages, passwords and user preferences.

1. To find the computer folder where your Profile is stored, select Help > Troubleshooting Information in the Thunderbird menu. Then look for "Profile Folder" and click on the Show In Finder Open Folder button.
   This will open a window showing information about your Profile folder. In this window you will see a path of names, starting with names of parent folders that contain your Profile folder, and ending with the name of your Profile folder. The path will look something like this example: > This PC > Elements(D:) > Other Documents > Amy's Thunderbird Profile
2. Use File Explorer Windows Explorer Finder your computer's or device's file manager to select and copy your Profile folder, with its contents, to a new computer or other new location (with a new folder name, if you wish). You can put your Profile folder into a parent folder of your choice. Once you complete steps 3 and 4, Thunderbird will be able to find your data in the new location.
   Do not copy a Profile folder while Thunderbird is running and using that Profile.
   If you have a large amount of email data, the copying process may take a long time.
3. Open the Choose User Profile window. For example, using the procedure to open a window in Windows 10,
   • Close Thunderbird
   • Right-click the Windows Start icon
   • Click Run
   • Enter this in the Open box: thunderbird.exe -p
     
   • Click OK
4. The Choose User Profile window displays a list of profiles recognized by Thunderbird, listed by name. There may be one or more profiles that have already been recognized. You can think of each name in the list as a nickname that Thunderbird uses to identify each recognized profile. Here's an example of the Choose User Profile window:
   
   
   
   Proceed to tell Thunderbird to recognize your new profile:
   • Click the Create Profile button,
   • Click Next ,
   • Enter a new nickname for your new Thunderbird Profile (this does not need to be the same as the name of your Profile folder),
   • Click the Choose Folder button,
   • Navigate to and select your new location's Profile folder that was set up in Step 2,
   • Click Select Folder,
   • Click Finish
     

You will now see your new profile included in the list of recognized profiles.

If each time you start Thunderbird you want to select from a choice of profiles, uncheck the "Use the selected profile without asking ..." box.

To automatically use a specific profile whenever Thunderbird starts, select that profile and check the "Use the selected profile without asking ..." box. (You can always open the Choose User Profile window again, to change this setting.)

Close the Choose User Profile window by clicking the Exit button.

Your Thunderbird Profile

Your Thunderbird Profile stores everything about your email, including locally stored messages and attachments, address lists, account settings, Thunderbird settings, stored passwords, tasks, calendar data, and data for add-on features. You can keep a Profile on just about any kind of storage or device.

Learn more about your Profile at Profiles - Where Thunderbird stores your messages and other user data.