How to Create Custom Filters in Gmail

Creating filters in Gmail helps you automatically organize, label, or manage incoming messages. Follow these steps to set up your own filters and keep your inbox tidy.

* As an example, the pictures below show how to create a custom filter to sort all incoming mail from dailyjobupdates@cabinedit.com to a label/ folder called "Daily Job Updates". All incoming email from that address are automatically marked as read and skip the inbox. *

1. Open Gmail Settings

Log in to your Gmail account on a desktop browser.
In the top-right corner, click the ⚙️ Settings gear icon.
Select See all settings.

2. Go to the Filters Section

In the Settings menu, click on the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
Select Create a new filter at the top of the section.

3. Define Your Filter Criteria

In the filter window that appears, you can specify how Gmail should identify the messages you want to filter.
You can fill in one or more of the following fields:

From: Filter messages sent by a specific email address or domain.
To: Filter emails sent to a specific address (useful for shared inboxes or aliases).
Subject: Filter messages with specific words in the subject line.
Has the words: Filter messages containing certain keywords in the body or subject.
Doesn’t have: Exclude messages containing specific words.
Size: Filter based on message size (e.g., larger than 5 MB).
Has attachment: Check this box to filter only emails with attachments.

When done, click Create filter at the bottom right of the window.

4. Choose What the Filter Does

Next, decide what Gmail should do when messages match your criteria. Options include:

Skip the Inbox (Archive it): Keeps your inbox clean but stores the message.
Mark as read: Helps manage automated or low-priority messages.
Star it: Highlights important emails.
Apply the label: Assign a label to categorize messages (e.g., “Invoices” or “Clients”).
Forward it: Automatically sends the message to another email address.
Delete it: Moves the message directly to Trash.
Never send it to Spam: Ensures important messages aren’t flagged incorrectly.
Categorize as: Sorts into Gmail’s automatic categories (Primary, Social, Promotions, etc.).

You can also apply the filter to existing messages by checking “Also apply filter to matching conversations.”

5. Save and Manage Filters

Click Create filter to activate it.
To edit or delete filters later:
1. Return to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Locate the filter and choose Edit or Delete.

6. Example Use Cases

Lunch Emails: Filter all messages that contain "Lunch" in the subject line to a specific label.
Schedules: Filter any message with “Schedule” in the subject into a “Daily Schedules” label.
Client Emails: Filter specific clients by email address to a specific label or mark as important.
Calendar Reminders: Filter re-occuring calendar reminders to a specific label based on keywords in the subject line.