Import & Export Rules
Your rules are portable. You can export them to a JSON file as a backup or to share a setup, and import a file to bring rules back in.
Both live in the More menu on the Rules page.
Export your rules
From the Rules page, open the More menu and choose Export Rules.
MailPrism downloads a JSON file named like email-rules-2026-06-15.json (today's date),
containing your rules. System rules (such as the ones MailPrism creates for
auto-responders) are left out.
What's in the file
The export is plain, readable JSON:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
version | The export format version |
exportedAt | When the file was created (timestamp) |
rulesCount | How many rules are included |
rules | The list of rules |
Each rule in the list keeps only the portable parts:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
name | The rule's name |
description | The rule's description |
enabled | Whether the rule was on |
conditions | The full condition logic — see Conditions |
actions | The full action list — see Actions |
stop_processing | Whether the rule stops later rules from running |
priority | The rule's priority order |
category | The rule's category (for example, general) |
message_direction | Which mail the rule runs on — received, sent, or both (Run this rule on in the builder) |
applies_to | Which Gmail accounts the rule covers — see Multi-account rules |
gmail_account_ids | The specific accounts, when the rule isn't for all accounts |
Rule IDs, your user account, per-rule timestamps, and execution history are not
included (the file's own exportedAt stamp is the only timestamp).
The only account-specific part is the optional account scope (gmail_account_ids) —
see how import handles it below.
Import rules
From the Rules page, open More → Import Rules and pick a JSON file (an export from MailPrism is the easiest starting point).
| Limit / behavior | Details |
|---|---|
| File size | Up to 1 MB |
| Rules per file | Up to 100 |
| Validation | Each rule is checked the same way the rule builder checks it. A rule that fails is skipped with a reason; the rest still import. |
| On or off | Imported rules always arrive disabled, so you can review them first. |
| Priority | Imported rules are placed after your existing rules, keeping the order they had in the file. |
| Account scope | Kept only if every account ID in the rule is one of your connected accounts. Otherwise the rule is reset to all accounts, and the result tells you. |
A rule that includes server fields (such as id, user_id, or timestamps) or any
key MailPrism doesn't recognize is rejected, with a message naming the problem.
Remove those keys and import again.
Open each imported rule, check it with Testing rules, then turn it on.
→ Next: Rule Library · Best practices