New Outlook

ApplicationMicrosoft Corporation

Also called outlook (new), olk, new outlook for windows

Microsoft CorporationProductivity

The Store and WebView Outlook client Microsoft is moving consumers toward. The process is olk.exe. It is not classic OUTLOOK.EXE.

What you need to know

New Outlook is olk.exe. Classic Outlook is OUTLOOK.EXE.

The Store/WebView client is not the Office16 mail app. PST, COM add-ins, and several offline features stay on classic Outlook. Windows Mail is a third process, HxOutlook.exe.

What is it?: The Store/WebView Outlook client
Process?: olk.exe, not OUTLOOK.EXE
PST and COM add-ins?: Those stay on classic Outlook

Feex says

If the process is olk.exe, you are in New Outlook, not classic. I would not run outlook.exe /safe on this client. scanpst.exe is a classic Outlook tool.

What is New Outlook?

New Outlook is Microsoft's newer Windows mail client. olk.exe is the process. Classic Outlook is OUTLOOK.EXE under Office16. Windows Mail is HxOutlook.exe. This article is the new client.

If you have never used it

If Windows 11 or classic Outlook offered "Try the new Outlook", this is olk.exe, not OUTLOOK.EXE. It is a Store / WebView client. Classic Outlook is the Office Win32 app with profiles, OST/PST, and COM add-ins. Windows Mail is HxOutlook.exe. Switching the toggle starts a different executable.

What is it used for?

Mail and calendar in one WebView shell

Looks like Outlook on the web in a window. Classic Outlook is Win32 MAPI, not this shell.

Consumer Microsoft accounts

The path Microsoft prefers after Mail. Work tenants may still require classic Outlook.

Side by side with classic

You can have both installed. The toggle is not a theme. It launches olk.exe instead of OUTLOOK.EXE.

Who is it for?

Windows 11 users pushed off Mail
People who flipped Try the new Outlook
Anyone who still needs PST or COM add-ins and should stay on classic

Current status

Actively developed. Microsoft documents feature gaps versus classic Outlook. This article is olk.exe.

How old is it?

Microsoft shipped New Outlook for Windows in 2022 and has been moving consumers off Mail and toward this client. Classic Outlook has used OUTLOOK.EXE since the 1990s. They are not a skin change.

Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

New Outlook (olk.exe)

Classic Outlook (OUTLOOK.EXE)

System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

Minimum

Minimum system requirements
Operating system	A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per the vendor
RAM	Enough for Windows plus this app. Heavy projects want more.

Resource profile

CPU demand: Follows what you open inside the app
RAM demand: Follows documents, tabs, or libraries

Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

Installed processes
olk.exe	New Outlook for Windows

Startup components

New Outlook can start with Windows from its own setting. That is olk.exe, not OUTLOOK.EXE.

File locations

Common New Outlook locations
Typical install	C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.OutlookForWindows_*\olk.exe

File formats

mail in the new Outlook cache

Common problems

Add-ins and PST missing

Those belong to classic Outlook. Turning the new toggle off returns OUTLOOK.EXE if Office still has it.

People repair Microsoft 365 Apps to fix a Store Outlook crash

olk.exe lives in WindowsApps. Repair the Store app or the Outlook (new) package, not only Click-to-Run.

Getting unstuck

Open file location on olk.exe

Microsoft.OutlookForWindows is this client. Office16\OUTLOOK.EXE is classic. HxOutlook.exe is Windows Mail.

Read Microsoft's feature comparison before you migrate a work profile

If you need PST or COM add-ins, stay on classic Outlook. This exe will not grow them overnight.

Do not download olk.exe from a filename site

Install New Outlook from Microsoft's Outlook support pages or the Store. Classic Outlook still comes from Office setup.

Alternatives

Classic Outlook, Windows Mail, and Thunderbird overlap. Classic Outlook is the Office sibling this article is not.

Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

Official contacts
Download	support.microsoft.com/outlook Official installer or vendor page
Help	support.microsoft.com/outlook Vendor support
Official site	support.microsoft.com/outlook Start here, not a random exe host
Classic vs new features	support.microsoft.com/office/feature-comparison-between-new-outlook-and-classic-outlook-de453583-1e76-48bf-975a-2e9cd2ee16dd PST, COM add-ins, and offline
Microsoft Store: Outlook	apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nrx63209x7x New Outlook package many PCs get

Related hardware

A WebView mail client wants RAM like other WebView apps. A GPU does not speed IMAP.

Technical details

Vendor version numbers change. This article does not pin a build.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

New Outlook official site · Vendor product page
New Outlook help · Vendor support
Feature comparison: new vs classic · What olk.exe cannot do yet
Office command-line switches · olk.exe versus outlook.exe
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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