How to open .msg and .eml email attachments in Jira Cloud

Why Jira can't show the email

A .eml file is the raw text of an email; an Outlook .msg file is a binary container. Jira Cloud has no built-in viewer for either, so the preview shows raw source for .eml and unreadable code for .msg. This has been an open request on Atlassian's tracker (JRACLOUD-77500) since 2021. The one exception: emails you add with Atlassian's Jira Cloud for Outlook add-in appear under "Attached emails" on the work item. Files that are uploaded, forwarded or added by automation don't.

Option 1: download and open in a mail app (free)

Download the attachment and open it in a desktop mail client. Outlook for Windows opens both .msg and .eml. On a Mac or on Linux, Apple Mail and Thunderbird open .eml, but not .msg; for .msg you need a separate converter or viewer.

This works, but it has real costs on a busy helpdesk: every reader downloads a copy outside Jira, opening unknown attachments in a mail app is exactly what security training tells people not to do, and nothing of the email is visible in the ticket itself.

Option 2: renaming the file does not work

A common tip is renaming .msg to .eml. That does not work: the formats are unrelated, so the renamed file is still unreadable. Saving the email as .eml or PDF before attaching it does work, if you can ask the sender to do that every time.

Option 3: a Marketplace app that shows the email on the work item

Marketplace apps add a viewer inside Jira, so the email is readable where the work happens and nothing needs to be downloaded. There are a few; compare them on these points:

Where the email is processed. Prefer apps that render in your browser with no external servers ("Runs on Atlassian"), so the email never leaves your site.
Both formats, including .msg files that only carry RTF, and forwarded emails that were attached without a file extension.
Safety of rendering. Scripts, forms and remote images inside an email should be stripped, so reading a suspicious email in the ticket is safe.
Phishing context. Helpdesks receive "is this mail legit?" tickets all day. A viewer that shows SPF/DKIM/DMARC results and the address behind each link saves the round-trip to a separate analysis tool.

Full disclosure: Dortus makes such an app. MailView shows .msg and .eml attachments on the work item with formatting, inline images and the files inside, plus a plain-English verdict with the reasons (authentication results, domains with lookalike letters from other alphabets or with accents, links whose text points elsewhere). It stores nothing and sends nothing anywhere. It is built on Atlassian Forge and works in Jira and the agent view of Jira Service Management.

Which option fits

One email a month: downloading is fine. A migration folder full of .msg files, or a service desk where customers forward emails daily: an in-Jira viewer pays for itself quickly, and a security-minded team will want the rendering isolation and the authentication details rather than agents opening attachments in Outlook.

Short answers

Can Jira Cloud preview .eml natively? No, uploaded .eml files show as raw source and .msg as code. Emails added with the Jira Cloud for Outlook add-in are the exception.

Does Outlook on the web open .msg files? Not from a download; classic Outlook for Windows does.

Is it safe to open a suspicious .msg from a ticket? Opening it in Outlook runs the risk every phishing training warns about. Read it in a viewer that strips scripts and remote content instead, and check the link destinations before anyone clicks.

Questions

Spotted something wrong on this page, or a case we missed? Email support@dortus.com.

MailView by Dortus

Read .msg and .eml attachments on the work item

The email as it was sent, with inline images and the files inside, plus a plain-English phishing check. Runs on Atlassian, stores nothing, sends nothing anywhere. Works in Jira and the Jira Service Management agent view.

About MailView

Submitted to the Atlassian Marketplace, in review.