How to put emails in a folder gmail

Folders are a must for keeping your email inbox organized. Gmail uses labels in addition to folders, but they're effectively the same thing. Unlike folders, you can apply more than one label to an email in Gmail.

To use a label as a "folder," use the "Move to" option to move an email or thread out of your inbox and into a label, which you can access in the left panel of your inbox.

All work-related emails for a specific client, for example, can be put into one folder, and wedding planning related emails can be stored in another. You can even nest labels under other labels, which act like subfolders.

Here's how to do it all.

Note: Check out our guide to all the tips and tricks to master your Gmail inbox.

How to create a folder in Gmail on desktop

1. Go to the Gmail website. Log in to your account if you aren't already logged in.

2. Click the gear-shaped Settings icon at the top-right of the screen, then select See all settings.

Desktop view of Gmail with the Quick Settings tab open and the See all settings option highlighted in a hot pink box with an arrow pointing at it.

Select "See all settings" to create, edit, and delete folders.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

3. In the Labels tab, scroll down to the Labels section and click Create new label.

4. Enter the name of the label you want, then click Create. If you want the new label to nest under an existing label (like a subfolder), click the box next to Nest label under and select the folder you want the new label to go into.

Desktop view of the New label pop up with the name field and Create button highlighted in a hot pink box with arrows pointing at them.

Label names can be a maximum of 225 characters.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

Quick tip: You can also create a label from an email by clicking the Labels icon, then Create new.

How to create a folder in Gmail on the mobile app

1. Open the Gmail app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android. 

2. Log in to your account. 

3. Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) on the top-left of the screen.

4. Scroll down to the Labels section, then tap Create new.

Mobile view of the Gmail app with the Create new button highlighted in a hot pink box with an arrow pointing at it.

Scroll down past the list of already created labels to make a new one.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

5. In the pop-up menu, enter the name of the label you want (225 characters max), then tap Done.

Quick tip: You can also create a label from an email by tapping the three dots icon at the top-right of the screen. Tap Move, then the plus + symbol.

How to apply labels in Gmail

1. In your Gmail inbox on desktop, click the boxes next to the emails you want to label and click the Label icon on the right side of the top toolbar. On the mobile app, tap the circular profile icon of the sender on each email you want to label, then tap the three dots icon, and select Label in the pop-up.

2. On both desktop and mobile, check the boxes corresponding to the labels you want to apply (you can choose more than one). On desktop, click Apply and on mobile tap the check mark to apply the labels.

Desktop view of Gmail with the Label as pop up expanded with the boxes highlighted in a hot pink box with arrows pointing at it.

Organize your Gmail inbox by assigning labels to individual or groups of emails.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

Quick tip: To move a labeled message from your inbox to the label folder, click the Move to icon instead of the Labels icon, then click on the name of the folder you want to move the message(s) to. Note that you can only choose one destination folder.

How to automatically apply labels via filtering

1. In your Gmail inbox on desktop, click the Show search options icon, which looks like three hatched lines, on the right side of the search bar.

2. Set the parameters for the filter. You can filter by From, To, Subject, Has the words, Doesn't have, Size, and Date.

3. After setting the criteria, click Create Filter.

Desktop view of Gmail with the Create filter option highlighted in a hot pink box with an arrow pointing at it.

Automatic filters can help you organize and find relevant emails quickly without having to manually label individual emails.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

4. On the next page, click the box next to Apply the label and choose a label from the drop-down menu.

5. Click Create Filter.

Desktop view of Gmail with the Apply the label option and Create Filter buttons highlighted in hot pink boxes with arrows pointing at them.

Select "Apply the label" and choose which label in the drop-down.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

How to edit or delete a label

On desktop:

1. In your Gmail inbox on desktop,click the gear-shaped Settings icon at the top-right of the screen, then select See all settings.

2. In the Labels tab, scroll down to the Labels section.

3. To edit a label, click on the label name, enter in the new name, then hit the Enter or Return key. Alternatively, click the corresponding edit button in the Actions tab. You can also change a label's nesting properties in this window.

Desktop view of Gmail edit label screen with the label name field and Save button highlighted in hot pink boxes with arrows pointing at them.

Add, delete, and edit labels in this section of the Settings menu.Abigail Abesamis Demarest/Insider

4. To delete a label, click the corresponding remove button in the Actions tab, then click Delete.

On the mobile app:

1. In the Gmail app, tap the hamburger menu icon in the top-left corner, next to the search bar.

2. Scroll down and tap Settings.

3. On the next screen, select the email address you want to apply the change to.

4. Scroll down on the next page and select Label settings in the Labels section.

Mobile view of Gmail settings screen with Label settings option highlighted in a hot pink box.

Go to "Label settings."Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

5. On the Label Settings page, tap the label you want to edit or delete.

Mobile view of label settings with a label titled as “Resume Cover Letter Examples”

Select the label you want to edit.Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

6. Tap the Name field to enter a new name, or tap the Delete [label name] button at the bottom to delete the label.

Mobile view of label rename/deletion screen for “Resume Cover Letter Examples” label.

Here you can rename or delete your label.Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

Abigail Abesamis Demarest

Abigail Abesamis Demarest is a contributing writer for Insider based in New York. She loves a good glazed donut and nerdy deep dives into the science of food and how it's made. 

How do I make emails go directly to a folder in Gmail?

Use a particular message to create a filter.
Open Gmail..
Check the checkbox next to the email you want..
Click More ..
Click Filter messages like these..
Enter your filter criteria..
Click Create filter..

Can I make an emails go directly into a folder?

If you want incoming messages for that address to go directly into a designated folder, select two options: a) Skip the Inbox and b) Apply the label (then choose the label you want or create a new one). You must apply both filters or else the new mail will still end up in your inbox.

Can you automatically move emails to a folder in Gmail?

Folders are actually called "labels" in Gmail, but they work similarly—you can organize your messages into custom labels to keep them organized. Instead of moving messages around manually, you can create filters that automatically assign labels based on criteria, like the sender's email address or words in the message.