Mar 29, 2026

How to Create Folders in Gmail

Gmail Folders Labels Inbox Management How-to Email

Gmail doesn’t have folders — it uses labels. If you’ve searched “how to create folders in Gmail” and can’t find a folder button, that’s why. The good news: labels do everything folders do and more. This guide walks you through creating labels that behave exactly like folders.

1. Gmail Labels vs. Folders: What’s the Difference?

In email clients like Outlook, a folder holds a message in one location. If you move an email to the “Invoices” folder, it lives there and only there.

Gmail labels work like tags. You can attach multiple labels to a single email — one message can appear under “Invoices,” “Client-Acme,” and “2026-Q1” simultaneously. When you click a label in the sidebar, Gmail shows you every email carrying that tag.

To make a label behave like a folder, you “move” the email to a label. Behind the scenes, Gmail applies the label and removes the Inbox label — so the email disappears from your inbox and only shows up under the label, just like moving a file into a folder.

	Traditional Folders	Gmail Labels
Email lives in one place	Yes	Optional (use “Move to”)
Email can be in multiple places	No	Yes (apply multiple labels)
Created from sidebar	Yes	Yes
Supports subfolders	Yes	Yes (sub-labels)
Color-coded	Varies by client	Yes

For the rest of this guide, “folder” means “label used as a folder.”

Open Gmail on desktop.
In the left sidebar, scroll down and click More to see the full list.
Click Create new label.
Type a name — for example, “Receipts” or “Project-Alpha.”
Click Create.

Your new label appears in the sidebar. You can now drag emails into it or use the Move to action to file them there.

3. Create a “Folder” From Settings

This gives you an overview of all your existing labels and system categories.

Click the gear icon in the top right.
Click See all settings.
Select the Labels tab.
Scroll past the system labels (Inbox, Starred, Sent, etc.) to the bottom.
Click Create new label.
Name the label. Optionally check Nest label under to place it inside another label (see section 4).
Click Create.

From this screen you can also toggle labels on or off in the sidebar and the message list, which keeps things tidy if you’ve accumulated dozens.

4. Create Nested “Subfolders” (Sub-Labels)

Sub-labels give you a folder-tree hierarchy. Example: a parent label “Work” with sub-labels “Work/Projects,” “Work/Admin,” and “Work/Meetings.”

Method 1 — When creating a new label:

In the Create new label dialog (from sidebar or Settings), type the sub-label name.
Check Nest label under.
Select the parent label from the dropdown.
Click Create.

Method 2 — From the sidebar:

Hover over the parent label in the sidebar.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) that appears.
Select Add sublabel.
Name it and click Create.

In the sidebar, sub-labels appear indented under the parent with a collapse arrow. You can nest multiple levels, but one or two levels is the sweet spot for staying organized without getting lost.

5. Move Emails Into “Folders” (Apply Labels)

There are two ways to file emails into labels — “label” (tags it, keeps it in inbox) and “move to” (tags it and removes it from inbox). The “move to” action is what makes labels feel like folders.

Move to (acts like a folder):

Select one or more emails from your inbox.
Click the Move to icon in the toolbar (folder with a right arrow).
Select the label.

The email disappears from your inbox and appears only under that label — identical to how folders work in Outlook or Apple Mail.

Apply label (keep in inbox too):

Select one or more emails.
Click the Labels icon in the toolbar (tag icon).
Check the labels you want and click Apply.

The email stays in your inbox and also appears under each label you applied. Use this when you want cross-referencing without hiding the message.

Drag and drop:

Click and drag a message from the inbox onto a label in the sidebar. This applies the label but keeps the email in your inbox. To mimic folder behavior with drag and drop, drag the message and then archive it (E key) to remove it from the inbox.

6. Move Emails on Mobile (iOS & Android)

The Gmail mobile app supports moving emails into labels but cannot create new labels. Create your labels on desktop first, then file emails on the go.

Move a single email:

Open the message in the Gmail app.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right.
Tap Move to.
Select the label.

Move multiple emails:

Long-press a message to select it.
Tap additional messages to add them to the selection.
Tap the three-dot menu > Move to.
Select the label.

Apply a label without removing from inbox:

Open the message.
Tap the three-dot menu > Label.
Check or uncheck labels.
Tap the checkmark to confirm.

7. Auto-Sort Emails Into “Folders” With Filters

Manually moving every email gets old fast. Gmail filters let you automatically label and archive incoming messages based on rules — sender address, subject line, keywords, attachment presence, and more.

In Gmail, click the gear icon > See all settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
Click Create a new filter.
Set your criteria. For example:
- From: billing@example.com
- Subject: Invoice
Click Create filter.
Check Apply the label and select (or create) the label.
Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it) to make the email go straight to the label without appearing in your inbox — full folder behavior.
Optionally check Also apply filter to matching conversations to retroactively label existing emails.
Click Create filter.

From now on, every matching email is automatically sorted into your “folder.” For a full walkthrough, see how to create filters in Gmail.

8. Rename, Reorder, and Delete “Folders”

Rename:

Hover over the label in the sidebar.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) > Edit.
Change the name and click Save.

All emails carrying that label are updated automatically — you don’t need to re-label anything.

Reorder:

Gmail sorts labels alphabetically by default. To force a custom order, prefix labels with numbers or symbols:

1-Urgent
2-Clients
3-Finance
4-Archive

Delete:

Hover over the label > three-dot menu > Remove label > Delete.

Deleting a label does not delete the emails inside it. The messages remain in your account (in All Mail); they just lose that label tag.

9. Quick Reference: Labels Are Folders

”Folder” Task	Gmail Action
Create a folder	Create new label (sidebar or Settings > Labels)
Create a subfolder	Check Nest label under when creating, or right-click label > Add sublabel
Move email to folder	Select email > Move to icon > pick label
Put email in multiple folders	Select email > Labels icon > check multiple labels > Apply
Auto-sort into folder	Create a filter with Apply the label + Skip the Inbox
Rename a folder	Hover label > ⋮ > Edit
Delete a folder	Hover label > ⋮ > Remove label (emails are not deleted)
Color-code a folder	Hover label > ⋮ > Label color
Create folders on mobile	Not supported — use Gmail on the web

Carly is an AI assistant that manages your inbox and schedule — triaging emails, applying labels, and keeping your Gmail organized without the manual sorting.

More on Gmail: How to create labels in Gmail · How to create filters in Gmail · How to archive emails in Gmail · How to block emails in Gmail · Best email management tools