How do I open a .pst file?

On Windows use Microsoft Outlook (File > Open Outlook Data File); on macOS use Microsoft Outlook (import only); on Linux use readpst (libpst) then Thunderbird or Evolution. An entire Outlook mailbox — mail, calendar and contacts — in one large file.

Can I convert a .pst file?

Yes. It is usually converted to .ost, .mbox, .eml or .msg, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

.pst files

.pst file

Outlook Personal Storage Table

An entire Outlook mailbox — mail, calendar and contacts — in one large file.

What opens a .pst file

Windows: Microsoft Outlook (File > Open Outlook Data File)
macOS: Microsoft Outlook (import only)
Linux: readpst (libpst) then Thunderbird or Evolution

What a .pst file is

PST is the local archive Outlook uses for POP accounts, exports and backups, and it can run to many gigabytes. You do not open it directly: in Outlook you use File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File, which mounts it as an extra folder tree. Outlook for Mac can import one, and on Linux the readpst tool from libpst converts a PST into standard mbox or EML files.

Converting it

A .pst file is commonly converted to .ost, .mbox, .eml or .msg. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.

Details

Extension: .pst
Full name: Outlook Personal Storage Table
Category: Documents
Created by: Microsoft
Format: Binary

Common questions

How do I open a .pst file?: On Windows use Microsoft Outlook (File > Open Outlook Data File); on macOS use Microsoft Outlook (import only); on Linux use readpst (libpst) then Thunderbird or Evolution. An entire Outlook mailbox — mail, calendar and contacts — in one large file.
What is a .pst file?: Outlook Personal Storage Table. PST is the local archive Outlook uses for POP accounts, exports and backups, and it can run to many gigabytes. You do not open it directly: in Outlook you use File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File, which mounts it as an extra folder tree.
Can I convert a .pst file?: Yes. It is usually converted to .ost, .mbox, .eml or .msg, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

.pdf — Portable Document Format A fixed-layout document that looks identical everywhere — the format for anythin
.docx — Word Document (Open XML) The standard Word document since Office 2007 — a zip archive of XML underneath.
.xlsx — Excel Workbook (Open XML) The standard Excel spreadsheet since 2007, with a million-row limit per sheet.
.pptx — PowerPoint Presentation (Open XML) The standard PowerPoint deck since 2007.
.txt — Plain Text File Text with no formatting at all — the format that will still open in fifty years.
.doc — Word Document (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Word format — still readable, but Microsoft would rather you conver
.xls — Excel Workbook (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Excel format, limited to 65,536 rows.
.ppt — PowerPoint Presentation (legacy binary) The pre-2007 PowerPoint format.
.md — Markdown Document Plain text with a light formatting convention — headings with #, bold with **.
.rtf — Rich Text Format A formatted document format readable by every word processor since 1987.
.pages — Apple Pages Document Apple's word processor format — Apple devices and iCloud only.
.odt — OpenDocument Text The open-standard word processor format, native to LibreOffice.

Sources

Media Types Registry — IANA
Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked