Creating your first filter rule

Filters are rules that automatically take action on incoming emails based on conditions you define. Instead of manually sorting, blocking, or forwarding messages, you set up a filter once and Cleanbox handles it for every future email that matches.

When to use filters

Filters are useful whenever you want to automate a recurring action:

• Block all emails from a specific domain
• Allow emails from a sender that keeps getting quarantined
• Forward matching emails to a specific IMAP folder
• Automatically mark certain messages as read or flagged

Creating your first filter

1. Navigate to Filters in the sidebar
2. Click "Add filter"
3. Give your filter a name (e.g., "Block marketing from example.com")
4. Add one or more conditions
5. Choose an action and optional options
6. Click "Save"

Conditions

Conditions define which emails the filter applies to. Each condition has three parts: a component (field), an operator, and a value.

Available components

Component	What it checks	Example
from	The sender email address	ends_with "@spam.com"
from_name	The sender display name	contains "Marketing"
sender	The Sender header (if different from From)	contains "bulk"
subject	The email subject line	contains "invoice"
body	The email body text	contains "unsubscribe"
header	Raw email headers	contains "X-Mailer: PHPMailer"
property	Message properties (multipart, has attachments, etc.)	is "has_attachments"
category	Contact category (Shopping, Social Networks, etc.)	equals "Shopping"
spam_score	Numerical spam score	greater_than 5
spam_symbol	Specific spam detection rules that triggered	contains "DKIM_FAIL"

Operators

Operator	Description
contains / not_contains	Field includes (or doesn't include) the value
equals / not_equals	Field matches (or doesn't match) exactly
starts_with / ends_with	Field begins or ends with the value
matches	Regex pattern matching
exists / not_exists	Header or property is present (or absent)
is / is_not	Property check (boolean)
greater_than / less_than	Numerical comparison (for spam_score)

Actions

Each filter has a primary action and optional additional options:

Primary action

Action	What it does
Allow	Deliver the message, bypassing further filter evaluation and spam checks.
Deny	Reject the message. It is not delivered to your inbox.

Note: For relay-protected addresses, the only available action is deny. Relay filters are specifically designed to block unwanted mail.

Additional options

When the action is allow, you can add these options to control how the message is delivered:

Option	What it does
Store in folder	Deliver to a specific IMAP folder instead of the default
Mark as read	Automatically mark the message as read upon delivery
Mark as flagged	Flag the message as important upon delivery
Forward to	Forward a copy of the message to another email address

Example: Deny all emails from a domain

1. Click "Add filter"
2. Name: Block spam-company.com
3. Condition: from ends_with @spam-company.com
4. Action: Deny
5. Save

Example: Move invoices to a folder

1. Click "Add filter"
2. Name: Invoices to folder
3. Condition: subject contains invoice
4. Action: Allow
5. Option: Store in folder → Invoices
6. Save

Filter limits per plan

Plan	Filters
Free	3
Personal	10
Premium / Advanced / Enterprise	Unlimited