Labels & Organization
MailPrism uses your existing Gmail labels — the same ones you see in Gmail. Apply and remove them here, and they sync straight back to your mailbox.
Applying and removing a label
Use the label action on an email's toolbar (or in the email view) to open the label picker:
- Add a label — the picker lists your labels that aren't already on the email.
- Remove a label — it lists only the labels currently on the email.
- Start typing to filter the list, then click a label or press Enter to apply it.
Each label shows its color so it's easy to recognize. See Email actions for where the label button lives on the toolbar.
The picker shows the labels in your Gmail account. To create a brand-new label, make it in Gmail first — it then appears in MailPrism the next time labels sync.
User labels vs. Gmail system labels
Gmail has two kinds of labels:
| Type | Examples | In MailPrism |
|---|---|---|
| Your labels | Clients, Receipts, Travel | Shown on emails and offered in the label picker. |
| System labels | INBOX, IMPORTANT, STARRED, SENT, CATEGORY_* | Hidden by default — they have their own controls. |
System labels are kept out of the picker on purpose: actions like Star, Important, and Archive already manage them directly, so listing them again would only add noise.
Showing system labels
If you want to see Gmail's built-in labels on your emails, turn on Show Gmail system labels under Settings → Appearance. It's off by default because most people find labels like INBOX and IMPORTANT distracting (under Settings → Appearance).
Finding email by label
To pull up everything with a given label, use the inbox search box with Gmail's
label: operator — for example:
label:clients
Combine it with other terms to narrow further. See Search & filters for the full syntax.
Nested labels
If you organize Gmail with nested labels (a parent label with sub-labels, like
Clients/Acme), MailPrism shows the label name exactly as Gmail stores it, and you can
search for it the same way:
label:clients/acme
Automating labels
Rules can apply or remove labels for you — for example, label every newsletter or tag anything from a key client automatically. See Actions reference.
→ Next: Search & filters