# How to mass delete emails in Gmail

Source: https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/mass-delete-emails-in-gmail/
Updated: 2026-10-19
Note: Gmail steps checked against Google's documentation on October 19, 2026.

Open the folder, category or search you want to empty, tick the **Select** box at the top left, click the link that offers to select all conversations, then click **Delete**. Everything goes to Trash, where Gmail keeps it for 30 days before deleting it for good. To narrow it first, search with an operator such as `from:` or `category:promotions`.

## How do you delete thousands of emails at once in Gmail?

1. Open Gmail on your computer and go to what you want to clear: a category such as Promotions, All Mail, or a search such as `from:news@example.com` or `category:social`.
2. At the top left, tick the **Select** box. That selects the conversations on the current page.
3. If a notification at the top offers to select all conversations in that view, click its link. Without it, only the page you can see is deleted.
4. Click **Delete** (the trash can) at the top.

- **Check before you delete:** the select-all link takes every conversation that matches, including the ones on pages you have not looked at. Read the first page of results, and narrow the search if anything on it should stay.
- Deleted mail stays in Trash for 30 days, then Gmail deletes it permanently. You can move it back during that time. A deleted draft cannot be recovered.
- **To delete for good now:** open Trash (under More), tick the messages and click **Delete forever**, or click **Empty Trash now** in the notification at the top.

> These steps follow [Google's own documentation](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7401?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop), read on October 19, 2026 for Gmail on the web (desktop). They were checked against the documentation, not clicked through in a real account. Google's page does not state a maximum number of messages per delete, and does not say whether the select-all link appears for every search. Menus change now and then; if a label differs, Google's page is the reference.

## How do you mass delete email in Donezo Inbox?

Donezo Inbox moves mail to Gmail's Trash, the same as Gmail's Delete; it never deletes permanently. Each pass handles up to 500 conversations, and every pass can be undone.

1. Open the view to clear, or press / and search. The search box takes Gmail's syntax, so `from:news@example.com` or `category:promotions` work.
2. Press ⌘A (Ctrl + A on Windows) to select the conversations loaded on screen.
3. Click **Select everything in this view (up to 500)** in the bar above the list. Donezo Inbox loads the rest of the view and selects up to 500 conversations.
4. Press #, or choose Delete (trash) from ⌘K. From 25 conversations up it asks you to confirm the number first.
5. Check the toast. It says how many were trashed and offers **Undo**. Repeat for the next 500 if the view had more.

![Donezo Inbox's All mail view with 15 conversations selected and a bar offering Select everything in this view, up to 500](https://donezoinbox.com/img/howto-select-all.webp)
*Every loaded conversation selected, with the offer to select the whole view. Screenshot of the demo mailbox.*

- If the view holds more than 500, Donezo Inbox says "Selected the first 500 conversations. That is the most at once." Run the same steps again.
- Want the inbox clear without deleting anything? The Cleaner's **Clear out** tab marks mail done (archives it) by age and type, and shows the count first. See [how to delete old emails](https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/delete-old-emails-in-gmail/) for that route.

Select and trash sample mail in the demo; nothing there is real. [Open the live demo](https://donezoinbox.com/demo): it runs with sample mail, no sign-in.

## Can Claude or Codex mass delete email for you?

It can prepare the deletion, and you approve it. Ask the agent to count and list what matches first; deleting is a separate request. The connector's `update_threads` tool takes up to 100 conversations per call.

**Preview only: count and sample**

```text
In my Donezo inboxes, search for category:promotions older_than:6m. Tell me how many conversations match per account and show me the 20 most common senders. Do not change or delete anything.
```

**Then ask for the deletion, narrowly**

```text
Move the matching conversations from news@example.com to Trash, in batches of at most 100. Stop and tell me if anything matches that is not from that sender.
```

> Moving to Trash counts as a delete. With the default link setting, **Read and write, with approval**, every delete request waits in Settings, then Developer, then Approvals until you approve it, and it expires after 24 hours. A link set to **Read and write** deletes without asking, so keep that setting for agents you trust with it.

Tools involved: `list_threads`, `update_threads`. The full list, permissions and setup commands are in the [connector documentation](https://donezoinbox.com/integrations/claude-and-codex/docs/).

## Why won't Gmail delete all your emails at once?

- **Only one page was deleted.** Ticking Select selects the page you can see. Click the link in the notification that offers to select all conversations before you click Delete.
- **The link to select all does not appear.** Google's page describes it for categories such as Inbox and Promotions. If it is missing for a search, delete page by page, or narrow the search and repeat.
- **The mail came back.** Something moved it out of Trash during its 30 days there; Undo on Donezo Inbox's toast does the same. Check Trash, then delete again.
- **Storage did not drop.** Mail in Trash still counts. Empty Trash; Google says the storage figure can take up to 48 to 72 hours after a very large delete.
- **Donezo Inbox stopped at 500.** That is its limit per pass. Run the steps again for the next 500.

## Questions

### How do I delete 10,000 emails at once in Gmail?

Search for them, tick Select, click the link that selects all conversations matching, then Delete. Google does not publish a cap per delete. In Donezo Inbox it takes 20 passes of 500.

### Is mass deleting reversible?

For 30 days, yes: open Trash and move the messages back. After 30 days, or after Delete forever, no.

### Should I delete or archive?

Archive if you might need the mail again: it leaves the inbox but stays searchable. Delete if you want the storage back.

### Can I delete all emails from one sender?

Yes. Search for `from:` and the address, select all, and delete. In Donezo Inbox the Cleaner can also unsubscribe from that sender and mark their inbox mail done in one click; that archives it rather than deleting it.

## Related

- [How to delete old emails in Gmail](https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/delete-old-emails-in-gmail/)
- [How to unsubscribe from emails in Gmail in bulk](https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/unsubscribe-from-emails-in-gmail-in-bulk/)
- [How to find archived emails in Gmail](https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/find-archived-emails-in-gmail/)
- [Email management software, compared by type](https://donezoinbox.com/email-management-software/)

## Try a bulk delete on sample mail

In the demo, select a view and press # to see the toast and its Undo. If what you really want is less mail arriving, [unsubscribe in bulk](https://donezoinbox.com/how-to/unsubscribe-from-emails-in-gmail-in-bulk/) first.

Live demo (sample mail, no sign-in): https://donezoinbox.com/demo