Migrate Gmail Filters

  • If you have been using Gmail for sometime, chances are that you have created a few filters to organize your mailbox.
  • But what if you plan to move to another Gmail or Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps) account and do not want to start from scratch?
  • In this video, I will show you how to migrate your Gmail filters from one email account to another in 2 easy steps.

Overview

  • Assuming you have created Gmail filters in one account and now you're switching to another account.
  • Instead of creating the same filters one by one in the new Gmail account, you can simply import filters from old account into new account.
  • In my case, I will be migrating my Gmail filters from my work account into my personal account.
already existing filters in gmail account

1. Go to Gmail Filters

  • Login to your Gmail account with filters you want migrate, then go to settings
  • From settings page, switch to 'Filters and Blocked Addresses' tab.
  • You should be able to see your existing filters that you should be migrating.
go to work email settings in gmail

2. Export Gmail filters

  • In this step you'll be exporting your existing filters.
  • Select the filters you want to export or you can simply click 'All' link next to 'Select' to select all filters.
  • Click on 'Export' button then you should see a file download which contains your filters.
export gmail filters

3. Import Gmail filters

  • Now login to your Gmail account you want to migrate your Gmail filters to. Go to 'Settings' then 'Filters and Blocked Addresses'.
  • Next, click on (2)'Import Filters', then (3) choose the file you downloaded in previous step. Then, click on (3) 'Open file' button to apply filters.
import gmail filters png

4. Create Filters

  • INow you should see the filters file read by Gmail, click on the filters that you want to import as shown in #1 in screenshot.
  • Now click on create filters, you can also checkbox if you want to apply these filters on existing emails.
Click-on-create-filters

Troubleshooting errors

  • In some cases you may get an error. It's important you read and try to understand what an error is.
  • For instance, in my case one of the filters requires me to verify forwarding address an action you will have to take before such a filter can start working.
troubleshooting-Gmail-Filters-Migration

Wrapping it up!

  • That is all you need to migrate your filters from one Gmail account to another.
  • For comments and questions, leave them in comment section below and I'll be happy to assist you.

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