How to Create Labels in Gmail in 2026 (Color-Code + Nest)

The short answer

On desktop, open Gmail, scroll the left sidebar, click More, then Create new label. Type a name and click Create. To apply, open an email and click the label icon in the toolbar, then tick the label. On mobile, tap the three-dot menu on an open email, then Change labels. Labels work like tags: one email can carry many, and nested sub-labels let you build a two-level folder tree.

Gmail labels are not folders, and that is the point. One email can wear multiple labels, which makes finding things later much easier than sorting into mutually exclusive buckets. This guide shows you how to create Gmail labels on web and mobile, how to color-code and nest them for a visual hierarchy, and how to create labels automatically with filters so new mail organizes itself.

Create a Gmail label on the web

The web version of Gmail gives you the full label management interface. Create, rename, nest, color-code, and hide labels from here.

1. Go to mail.google.com and sign in.
2. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click More to expand the full menu.
3. Click Create new label near the bottom.
4. Type a label name (keep it under 40 characters for readability).
5. Optionally tick Nest label under and pick a parent label to make this a sub-label.
6. Click Create.

The new label appears in the sidebar immediately. You can also create a label from the Settings page: click the gear icon, click See all settings, click the Labels tab, scroll to the User labels section, and click Create new label.

Create a Gmail label on mobile

The Gmail app lets you create labels and apply them to emails. The experience is slightly simpler than the web but covers the common cases.

1. Open the Gmail app on Android or iPhone.
2. Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) at the top left.
3. Scroll down and tap Create new under the Labels section.
4. Type a label name.
5. Tap Done (Android) or Save (iPhone).

Nested labels on mobile: type the parent label name, then a forward slash, then the sub-label name (for example, Clients/Acme Corp). Gmail recognizes the slash and creates the nested hierarchy for you.

Apply a label to an email

Labels are only useful once they are on emails. Here is the fastest way to tag one or many at once.

From the inbox on web:

1. Tick the checkbox at the left of one or more emails.
2. Click the label icon in the toolbar above the list (it looks like a tag).
3. Type the first few letters of the label name, or scroll to find it.
4. Tick the label and click Apply.

From inside an open email:

1. Click the label icon in the toolbar above the message.
2. Tick one or more labels.
3. Click Apply.

On mobile:

1. Open the email in the Gmail app.
2. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right.
3. Tap Change labels.
4. Tick one or more labels and tap the checkmark (Android) or Save (iPhone).

An email can carry any number of labels. The same email showing under both Clients/Acme Corp and Invoices is normal and expected.

Create nested sub-labels and color-code them

Nested labels give you a visual folder tree without losing the multi-tag flexibility. Colors make scanning the sidebar faster.

To nest an existing label under a parent:

1. In the sidebar, hover over the label name.
2. Click the three-dot menu that appears.
3. Click Edit.
4. Tick Nest label under and pick the parent.
5. Click Save.

To color-code a label:

1. Hover over the label name in the sidebar.
2. Click the three-dot menu.
3. Hover over Label color.
4. Pick a color from the palette (24 built-in colors, or click Add custom color for a hex code).

Color-coded labels show their color both in the sidebar and as a small pill next to the subject line in the inbox list. A good scheme is red for urgent clients, blue for internal projects, green for finance, and gray for low-priority filters.

Create labels automatically with filters

The real time saver is letting filters apply labels for you so you never label a new email by hand again.

1. Open Gmail Settings, go to Filters and Blocked Addresses, and click Create a new filter.
2. Enter match conditions: From (a sender), Subject (a keyword), or Has the words (a phrase anywhere in the body).
3. Click Create filter.
4. Tick Apply the label and pick the label from the dropdown. If the label does not exist yet, click New label to create it from the same screen.
5. Optionally tick Also apply filter to matching conversations to label existing mail in one shot.
6. Click Create filter.

From this moment on, every matching new email gets the label automatically. Combine with Skip the Inbox to route newsletters, receipts, or low-priority senders out of the main view and into their own labels you check on your schedule.

Edit, hide, or delete a Gmail label

Labels you no longer want do not have to clutter the sidebar.

To rename: hover the label, click the three-dot menu, click Edit, change the name, click Save.

To hide from the sidebar without deleting: go to Settings, click the Labels tab, find the label, and under Show in label list, click Hide. The label and all its tagged emails remain intact, the label just does not show in the sidebar.

To delete: hover the label, click the three-dot menu, click Remove label, confirm. Deleting a label removes it from every email it was on but does not delete the emails themselves. Those emails keep any other labels they had.

Google Workspace accounts under strict admin policies may have Remove label grayed out. Ask your admin to enable user label management under the Admin Console Gmail settings in that case.

We are hoping this label system saves you the daily inbox-sort tax. If you have a labeling scheme that works for your role (sales, dev, student life, freelance), share it in the comments below and we will feature the most useful ones.

Caren Bautista

Technical Writer at PIES IT Solution

Responsible for crafting clear, well-structured, and beginner-friendly content across the platform. Handles the writing, proofreading, and editorial review of tutorials, guides, and documentation to ensure every article is accurate, readable, and easy to follow.

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