Skip to content

README.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
450 lines (331 loc) · 13.7 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

450 lines (331 loc) · 13.7 KB

Outlook Data Exporter

A native C# console application that exports contacts and email recipients from Microsoft Outlook to CSV or JSON format. Part of the AfterShell post-exploitation toolkit.

✨ Standalone Executable: This application builds as a single-file executable with no DLL dependencies. Just copy the .exe and run it anywhere on Windows x64 systems.

🚀 Quick Start

Get Started in 30 Seconds

1. Build the Application

cd C:\Dev\AfterShell\exfil\OutlookExporter
build-outlookexporter.bat

2. Export Your First Data

# Export all contacts to CSV (default)
bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\OutlookExporter.exe

# Output: outlook_contacts_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.csv in current directory

Quick Reference

Task Command
Export contacts to CSV OutlookExporter.exe
Export to JSON OutlookExporter.exe --json
Export to both formats OutlookExporter.exe --csv --json
Display as matrix OutlookExporter.exe --matrix
List contact folders OutlookExporter.exe --list
Export recipients OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100
List accounts OutlookExporter.exe --list-accounts

Features

  • Contacts Export: Export all contacts from Outlook's contact folders
  • Email Recipients Export: Extract unique email addresses from email messages (senders and recipients)
  • Contact Frequency Tracking: Track how many times each contact was contacted and their latest contact date
  • Smart Sorting: Results sorted by most frequently contacted (recipients mode)
  • Multi-Account Support: Process all configured email accounts or specific ones
  • Folder Selection: Choose specific contact or mail folders to process
  • Limit Control: Process only a specific number of emails for faster extraction
  • Exchange Support: Resolves Exchange/EX addresses to SMTP format
  • JSON Export: Export data to JSON format
  • Matrix Display: Display results as a formatted table in the terminal
  • Simultaneous Output: Export to CSV, JSON, and display matrix all at once

Requirements

  • .NET 8.0 SDK or later (can be changed to .NET 6.0+ in the .csproj file)
  • Microsoft Outlook installed on Windows
  • Windows operating system

Building the Application

Note: This project is configured to build as a single-file standalone executable. See the Single-File Build Guide for details.

Option 1: Using .NET CLI (Recommended)

# Navigate to the project folder
cd exfil\OutlookExporter

# Publish as single-file executable (Debug)
dotnet publish -c Debug

# Publish as single-file executable (Release)
dotnet publish -c Release

# Output location:
# bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\OutlookExporter.exe

Option 2: Using Visual Studio

  1. Open the OutlookExporter.csproj file in Visual Studio
  2. Build the solution (Ctrl+Shift+B)
  3. Run the application (F5)

Option 3: Using Build Scripts (Easiest)

# Navigate to the project folder
cd exfil\OutlookExporter

# Build both Debug and Release versions
build-outlookexporter.bat

# Build and run with arguments
build-and-run-outlookexporter.bat --help
build-and-run-outlookexporter.bat --recipients --limit 100

Output Locations

After building, find your standalone executable at:

bin\Debug\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\OutlookExporter.exe      (Debug build)
bin\Release\net8.0-windows\win-x64\publish\OutlookExporter.exe    (Release build)

✨ No DLLs required! The executable includes all dependencies. Just copy and run anywhere on Windows x64.

Usage

Contacts Mode (Default)

Export all contacts to a default timestamped CSV file:

OutlookExporter.exe

Export contacts to JSON format only:

OutlookExporter.exe --json

Export to both CSV and JSON simultaneously:

OutlookExporter.exe --csv --json

Export to CSV, JSON and display matrix (all at once):

OutlookExporter.exe --csv --json --matrix

Display contacts as a matrix table in terminal only:

OutlookExporter.exe --matrix

Export to CSV and also display matrix:

OutlookExporter.exe --csv --matrix

Export contacts to a specific base filename (extensions added automatically):

OutlookExporter.exe --output my_contacts --csv --json

Export contacts from a specific Outlook folder:

OutlookExporter.exe --folder "Contacts/Work Contacts"

List all available contact folders in Outlook:

OutlookExporter.exe --list

Email Recipients Mode

Export recipients from first 100 emails in Inbox (CSV by default):

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100

Export recipients to both CSV and JSON:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 --csv --json

Export to CSV, JSON and display matrix simultaneously:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 --csv --json --matrix

Display recipients as a matrix table in terminal only:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 --matrix

Export to JSON and also display matrix:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 --json --matrix

Export recipients from Sent Items folder:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --mailfolder "Sent Items" --limit 200

Export recipients from all accounts in all formats:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 --all-accounts --csv --json --matrix

Export from Sent Items across all accounts:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --mailfolder "Sent Items" --limit 100 --all-accounts

Export from specific account only:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --account "work@company.com" --limit 100

List all configured email accounts:

OutlookExporter.exe --list-accounts

Command Line Options

Contacts Mode

Option Description
-o, --output <file> Output file path (default: outlook_contacts_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.csv/json)
-f, --folder <path> Specific contacts folder path (e.g., "Contacts/MyFolder")
-l, --list List all available contact folders and exit

Email Recipients Mode

Option Description
-r, --recipients Export email recipients instead of contacts
-m, --mailfolder <name> Mail folder to process (default: Inbox). Options: Inbox, "Sent Items", Outbox, Drafts
--limit <n> Limit number of emails to process per folder
-a, --account <email> Process specific email account only
--all-accounts Process all configured email accounts
--list-accounts List all configured email accounts and exit

Output Format Options (can be combined)

Option Description
--csv Export to CSV format (default if no format specified)
--json Export to JSON format
--matrix Display results as a matrix table in terminal

Note: All output format options can be used simultaneously. For example, --csv --json --matrix will export to both CSV and JSON files and display the matrix in the terminal.

Common Options

Option Description
-o, --output <file> Output file path
-h, --help Show help message

Exported Fields

Contacts (CSV/JSON)

  • Full Name, First Name, Last Name, Middle Name
  • Email 1, Email 2, Email 3
  • Company, Job Title, Department
  • Business Phone, Home Phone, Mobile Phone, Business Fax
  • Business Address, Home Address
  • Birthday, Anniversary
  • Notes, Categories

Recipients (CSV/JSON)

  • Email - SMTP email address (Exchange addresses are resolved)
  • Name - Display name
  • Type - Sender, To (Recipient), CC (Recipient), or BCC (Recipient)
  • Account - Which email account this came from
  • ContactCount - Number of times this contact was contacted within the processed emails
  • LatestContactDate - Most recent contact date/time with this email address
  • IsOwnAccount - Indicates if the email address belongs to one of the configured Outlook accounts ("Yes" or empty)

Note: Recipients are sorted by ContactCount (most contacted first), then by LatestContactDate.

Matrix Display

The --matrix option displays a subset of fields in a formatted table:

  • Contacts Matrix: Name, Email, Company, Job Title, Mobile, Business Phone
  • Recipients Matrix: Email, Name, Type, Account, Times Contacted, Latest Contact, Own (sorted by most contacted)
    • Own accounts (emails configured in Outlook) are marked with * and highlighted in cyan
    • A legend at the bottom shows the count of own accounts used for export

Real-World Examples

Scenario 1: Building a Target List

Extract all contacts and their email addresses:

OutlookExporter.exe --csv --json

Scenario 2: Mapping Communication Patterns

Identify most frequently contacted addresses:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 500 --all-accounts --matrix

Scenario 3: Quick Assessment

Display contacts in terminal without creating files:

OutlookExporter.exe --matrix

Scenario 4: Comprehensive Data Export

Export everything from all accounts:

# Export contacts
OutlookExporter.exe --csv --json -o all_contacts

# Export recipients from Inbox
OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --all-accounts --limit 1000 --csv --json -o inbox_recipients

# Export recipients from Sent Items
OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --all-accounts --mailfolder "Sent Items" --limit 1000 --csv --json -o sent_recipients

Scenario 5: Specific Account Analysis

Focus on a single email account:

OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --account "work@company.com" --limit 500 --csv --matrix

Technical Details

COM Interop

  • Uses Microsoft Outlook COM automation
  • Proper COM object cleanup to prevent memory leaks
  • Works whether Outlook is running or not
  • Compatible with all Outlook versions that support COM

Data Processing

  • Deduplicates email addresses (recipients mode)
  • Aggregates contact frequency and latest contact date
  • Resolves Exchange (EX) addresses to SMTP format
  • Handles multiple email accounts in Outlook profile

File Formats

  • CSV: UTF-8 with BOM for Excel compatibility
  • JSON: UTF-8 with proper escaping
  • Matrix: Formatted terminal output with column sizing

Performance

  • Progress indicators for long operations
  • Efficient memory usage with COM object cleanup
  • Limit controls for processing large mailboxes
  • Sorted output for meaningful results

Notes

  • The application works whether Outlook is open or closed
  • COM objects are properly released to prevent memory leaks
  • CSV files are encoded in UTF-8 with BOM for Excel compatibility
  • JSON files are UTF-8 encoded with proper escaping
  • Progress is shown during export
  • Dates are formatted as YYYY-MM-DD (contacts) or YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (recipients)
  • Email recipients are deduplicated and aggregated (each address appears only once with contact count)
  • Recipients are sorted by contact frequency (most contacted first)
  • Matrix display truncates long values and caps column widths for readability
  • Output formats can be combined: --csv --json --matrix outputs all three simultaneously
  • When using multiple file formats, extensions are automatically appended (e.g., output.csv and output.json)

Troubleshooting

"Failed to connect to Outlook"

Solution:

  • Ensure Microsoft Outlook is installed on your system
  • Make sure you have proper permissions to access Outlook
  • Try running as administrator if permission issues persist

"Error accessing contacts folder"

Solution:

  • Verify the folder path is correct using the --list option
  • Check that you have access to the specified folder
  • Folder names are case-sensitive

"Could not find folder for account"

Solution:

  • Use --list-accounts to see available accounts
  • Folder names may vary by language (e.g., "Sent Items" vs "Verzonden items")
  • Verify the account email address is correct

No data exported

Solution:

  • Check if the contacts folder or mailbox has any items
  • Verify folder permissions
  • Try without specifying a folder to use defaults

Exchange addresses not resolved

Solution:

  • This is expected for some Exchange environments
  • The tool tries multiple methods to resolve EX to SMTP
  • Exchange cached mode may affect resolution

Security Considerations

⚠️ This tool is designed for post-exploitation scenarios. Use responsibly and only on systems you own or have explicit permission to test.

  • Exported data may contain sensitive personal information
  • CSV/JSON files are not encrypted
  • Consider secure deletion of exported files after use
  • Be aware of data protection regulations (GDPR, etc.)

Integration with AfterShell

This utility is part of the AfterShell post-exploitation toolkit. It can be integrated with other AfterShell tools:

# Example: Combine with screen capture
OutlookExporter.exe --recipients --limit 100 -o contacts.csv
ScreenCapture.exe -c 5 -i 2 -o screens.zip
# ... additional exfil operations

Contributing

This tool is part of the AfterShell project. Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome at:

GitHub: https://github.com/Logisek/AfterShell

License

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 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Same as the parent project.

Copyright (C) 2025 Logisek

Contact

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (2025)

  • Initial release
  • Contacts export to CSV/JSON
  • Email recipients export with frequency tracking
  • Multi-account support
  • Exchange address resolution
  • Matrix terminal display
  • Simultaneous multiple output formats