How to set up Gmail filters that archive and label your mail

How to build Gmail filters that clear your inbox without losing mail

1. Get the search right first

   01

   Start from a real message

   In Gmail on a computer, check the box next to an example of the mail you want filtered, click More (the three dots), then Filter messages like these. Gmail opens the search options with criteria taken from that message. Starting from a real message avoids guessing at the sender’s exact address.

2. 02

   Test the search before you create anything

   In the search options box, adjust the criteria and click Search. Scroll the results: everything listed is what the filter will catch from now on, so anything you need to see should not be there.

3. 03

   Widen or narrow the criteria with operators

   To catch a whole company, use a wildcard sender such as *@example.com. For a mailing list, the list: operator matches the list address. To narrow instead, add a subject word with subject: or exclude one with -. Click Search again after each change.

4. Choose actions that hide mail, not remove it

   04

   Tick Skip the Inbox and apply a label

   At the bottom of the search box, click Create filter. Tick Skip the Inbox (Archive it), then choose a label with Apply label, creating a new one if needed. The mail still arrives, stays searchable, and waits under that label in the left-hand list.

5. 05

   Leave Delete it unticked

   A filter set to Delete it sends matching mail to Trash, and Trash is emptied permanently after 30 days. Since the point of the filter is that you never see this mail arrive, a mistake here is found late or never. Archiving costs nothing and can be reversed from the label.

6. 06

   Create the filter and watch the label for a week

   Tick Also apply filter to matching conversations so the mail already in your inbox moves too, then click Create filter. For the next week, open the label every day or two and look for anything that should have reached you. If one does, edit the filter to exclude it before the label gets too long to check.

7. Clear the backlog and keep the list honest

   07

   Clear any backlog the filter did not move

   If you missed the box in step 6, older mail stays in the inbox. Run the same search, check the boxes next to the results, click Labels at the top and choose the label, then archive them. The backlog ends up in the same place the filter sends new mail.

8. 08

   Review your filter list for Delete it and Skip Inbox

   Click Settings, See all settings, then Filters and Blocked Addresses. When mail goes missing, these are the two actions to look for: Delete it and Skip Inbox. Click Edit to change one or Delete to remove it.

9. 09

   Export your filters as a backup

   On the same tab, check the boxes next to your filters and click Export at the bottom. Gmail gives you an .xml file you can keep, or bring back later with Import filters. Do this once your filters work, so a mistaken edit is easy to undo.