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    Use Gmail Filters to Sort Email Automatically

    Gmail filters automatically move, label, or archive emails as they arrive based on rules you set. Stop sorting email by hand — let Gmail do it for you.

    4 min read · 5 steps · Checked April 2026

    1. Step 1. Find an Email to Filter

      Open Gmail in a browser. Find an email from a sender you want to filter (like a newsletter, store receipt, or bank alert). Hover over the email. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) or right-click the email and look for "Filter messages like these." Gmail opens the filter creation form pre-filled with that sender's address.

      Quick Tip

      Quick Tip: You can also create filters from scratch. Click the search bar at the top of Gmail, then click the "Show search options" icon (three horizontal lines or a down arrow on the right side of the search bar).

    2. Step 2. Set Your Filter Criteria

      In the filter form, fill in what emails the rule should apply to. "From" is often enough — just the sender's email address. You can also add "Subject" keywords, "Has the words," or "Has attachment" to make the filter more specific. Click "Create filter" at the bottom.

    3. Step 3. Choose What to Do With Matching Emails

      After clicking "Create filter," you see a list of actions to apply. Choose one or more: Skip the Inbox (archive it), Apply the label (create a label like "Bank" or "Shopping"), Mark as read, Star it, Delete it, Forward it to another address, or Never send to Spam. Check the boxes for the actions you want.

    4. Step 4. Apply to Existing Emails (Optional)

      At the bottom of the action screen, check "Also apply filter to matching conversations." This applies the new rule to all emails already in your inbox that match the criteria — not just future ones. Great for right away organizing a backlog of newsletters.

    5. Step 5. Save and Test the Filter

      Click "Create filter." The filter is now active. To test it, send yourself an email matching the criteria or wait for the next email from that sender. It should automatically receive the treatment you specified. You can see all your filters at any time: Gmail Settings (gear icon) → See all settingsFilters and Blocked Addresses.

      Warning

      Be careful with "Delete it" as an action — deleted emails skip the inbox entirely and go to Trash, where they are permanently deleted after 30 days. Use "Skip the Inbox + Apply Label" instead of delete for important senders you want organized.

    Gmail filters are rules you set up that automatically do things to incoming emails — moving them to a folder, applying a label, marking them as read, or archiving them. Once set, filters work in the background forever, keeping your inbox organized without any effort from you.

    For example: a filter on emails from your bank can automatically apply a "Finance" label and skip the inbox (go straight to the label). Newsletters can be filtered to a "Reading" label and marked as read so they do not interrupt you. Emails from a doctor's office or pharmacy can be flagged as important.

    You can build filters from any email you receive — right-click (or use the menu) to "Filter messages like these" and Gmail pre-fills the filter with that sender's address. Or you can build filters from scratch using Gmail's filter creation form.

    Filters can match by: sender email address, recipient, subject line keywords, whether the email has an attachment, and more. You can combine conditions (from: and has: attachment) for very specific rules.

    This is one of the most powerful inbox management features in Gmail and requires only a few minutes to set up. You can create as many filters as you need.

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