Set up an inbox rule
File, label, or forward incoming mail automatically.
Inbox rules automatically organize, label, or forward your mail based on conditions you set — so important messages land where you need them without manual sorting.
Rules apply instantly to new mail and retroactively to messages already in your inbox, giving you an organized inbox from the moment you create them.
Open Rules in the sidebar.
Click New rule.
Set the condition — sender, subject keywords, or recipients.
Conditions let you target mail by who sent it, what the subject line contains, or who it was sent to — you can combine multiple conditions for precision.
Click Create rule — it also sweeps matching mail already in your inbox.
Your rule takes effect immediately and scans your entire inbox, so you'll see the action applied to all matching messages right away.
Your rule joins the Active rules list — reorder to set what runs first.
Rules run in the order they appear in your list, so if multiple rules could apply to the same message, the one higher up executes first.
What's next
Test your rule by sending yourself a message that matches the condition and verify it's handled as expected.
Once you're confident it's working, create additional rules to cover other types of mail you receive regularly.