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How to set up a Gmail filter to sort emails into a folder

Gmail can automatically move emails from a specific sender — or matching any subject or keyword — into a label (Gmail's name for a folder). Once set up, it runs silently in the background. This guide covers the desktop browser version.

What you'll need: A Gmail account. A desktop or laptop browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. This doesn't work from the Gmail mobile app.

Open Gmail in your browser

Go to mail.google.com and sign in if you aren't already.

Open Settings

Click the gear icon (⚙️) near the top-right of the screen, then click See all settings.

Go to the Filters tab

In the Settings menu, click the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab along the top.

Create a new filter

Click Create a new filter at the bottom of the page (or at the top if you have no existing filters).

Set what the filter matches

A box will appear with several fields. You only need to fill in the ones relevant to you. Common options:

From — emails from a specific sender:

[email protected]

Subject — emails with specific words in the subject line:

Invoice

Has the words — any email containing a specific word or phrase anywhere in it:

unsubscribe

You can fill in more than one field. Gmail will only match emails that satisfy all the conditions you enter.

When you're done, click Create filter.

Choose what happens to matching emails

A second screen appears. Tick Apply the label, then click Choose label… from the dropdown next to it.

Either pick an existing label from the list, or click New label… to create one now. Give it a name — for example:

Newsletters

If you also want these emails to skip your inbox entirely — so they go straight to the folder without appearing in the main view — tick Skip the Inbox (Archive it) as well.

Apply to existing emails (optional)

If you want the filter to also sort emails already in your inbox, tick Also apply filter to matching conversations. Leave it unticked if you only want it to affect new emails from this point forward.

Save the filter

Click Create filter. Done. Gmail will now sort matching emails automatically.

Your new label will appear in the left-hand sidebar. Click it to see everything sorted into it.

Variations

Filter emails from an entire domain

In the From field, enter just the domain name to catch all emails from that organisation:

@amazon.co.uk

This will match any sender ending in that domain — useful for retailers or mailing lists that send from multiple addresses.

Filter by multiple senders at once

In the From field, separate addresses with a pipe character:

[email protected] | [email protected]

Filter using the Gmail mobile app

The Gmail app on iOS and Android doesn't include a filter creation screen. You can only create and manage filters from the desktop browser version at mail.google.com. Filters you create there will apply to your account on all devices, including mobile.

Troubleshooting

The filter isn't moving emails to the label

Check that you also ticked Skip the Inbox if you expected emails to disappear from the main view. Without that, Gmail applies the label but the email still appears in the inbox as well. Labels in Gmail are not exclusive folders — an email can carry a label and still sit in the inbox at the same time.

I can't find the label in the sidebar

Gmail hides labels with no unread messages by default. Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar and click More to expand the full list. You can also drag any label up to pin it in the visible section.

I want to edit or delete the filter later

Go to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses. Each filter listed has an edit and delete link next to it.

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