Export Ops manager emails to Excel
Four steps, one command, and a completeness check at the end — for shared mailbox triage and SLA tracking.
Step 1 — connect read-only
Use an app password, never the main password. The script opens the folder in read-only mode, so nothing is marked as read or deleted.
python mail_to_excel.py --host imap.example.com --user you@example.com --days 31 --fields request,owner,sla,status,channel --out ops-manager.xlsxStep 2 — filter to one period
A month or a quarter, not «everything». SLAs are measured from the first message, not from when someone noticed it. The export gives you the real first-message timestamp.
Step 3 — keep only the columns that matter
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
request | Short description of the incoming request. |
owner | The person responsible — assignments often happen in Cc. |
sla | Target response window; measured from the first inbound message. |
status | Fixed vocabulary: open / in progress / done / blocked. |
channel | Where the request came from (email, form, phone). |
Step 4 — verify completeness
- Run the same search in your mail client and note the message count.
- Compare it with the row count in the spreadsheet.
- If the numbers differ, the filter or the folder is wrong — fix it before using the file.
Example output
| request | owner | sla | status | channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access request #482 | D. Ivanov | 4h | open |
Pitfalls
- SLA looks fine but customers complain — Measure from the earliest message in the thread, not the latest reply.
- Owners are missing for half the rows — Export the To/Cc fields too — assignment often happens in Cc.
Provider notes
Shared mailbox exports need a user with full access; test with one folder before running the whole mailbox.
FAQ
Can this feed a dashboard?
Export CSV on a schedule and point your BI tool at the file or a synced sheet.
How do I avoid duplicates across runs?
Filter by date range and use the message id column as the unique key.
How many messages can it handle?
Thousands per run with a date filter; very large mailboxes are better exported month by month.
Will it change anything in the mailbox?
No. Read-only access is the default and should stay enabled.
Related guides
- Ops manager: columns and pitfallsThe compact overview for this role.
- Universal IMAP guideApp passwords, decoding and Excel output.