Gmail messages archived instead of going to the Inbox in Apple Mail

Question

Level 1

4 points

Some, but not all, Gmail messages go to the Archive folder in Apple Mail and not to the Inbox. Any idea why this is happening and how to stop it?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Missing Gmail messages.

Mac mini, macOS 26.1

Posted on Nov 28, 2025 4:34 AM

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Answer 1

Level 10

224,574 points

Google's IMAP implementation is horribly non-standard.

Technically, there are no folders at all in gmail. Just tags.

"Inbox" is a tag, not a place. The only "place" there is, is "All Mail", which Apple Mail interprets as the Archive.

Check the settings and rules on the gmail web page.

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