How do I import a PST file into Mac Mail?

Switched from a Windows work laptop to a MacBook and my old mail archive is a 6GB PST. Apple Mail's import dialog does not list PST anywhere.

Is there a native path I am missing or does this always need conversion?

No native path exists, Apple Mail has never read PST. Its import formats are mbox and a couple of legacy Apple ones, so the job is PST to MBOX conversion and then a normal import.

1

Convert the PST to MBOX with a converter, SysTools PST Converter has an MBOX output and runs the conversion without needing Outlook installed. Each Outlook folder becomes one .mbox file.

2

Copy the .mbox files to the Mac if you converted on a Windows machine.

3

In Apple Mail: File, Import Mailboxes, choose Files in mbox format, select the files and import.

4

Mail places everything under an Import folder in the sidebar. Drag folders to where you want them, On My Mac for local or into an IMAP account to push them server side.

If the Mac has Outlook for Mac installed through a Microsoft 365 subscription, there is a two step alternative without third party tools: Outlook for Mac imports PST directly via File, Import, and from there you drag mail into an IMAP account that Apple Mail also connects to. It works, though pushing 6GB through an IMAP server is slow compared to the direct conversion.

Converted to mbox and imported, folder per file exactly as described. 6GB took the converter about half an hour versus what IMAP would have done to my week.