How do I apply Mail rules automatically to secondary mailboxes?

The rules run automatically on every account inbox. They do not run automatically on any other mailbox.

The "current mailbox" in your screenshot is not an Inbox of any account.

Nobody here has any knowledge of why Apple does anything. It is impossible to provide you any rationale as to why it only runs rules on the Inbox.

For you, I believe it is working as designed. Rules don’t apply to mailboxes. They apply to messages, They only automatically apply to messages that arrive in the inbox.

If you need to manually apply rules, you have to select the messages for which you wish to apply the rule. If you want to apply the rule to an entire mailbox, you’d have to select all messages (cmd-a) and then apply the rule.

it might be possible to boil that all down into an AppleScript and keyboard shortcut, the rules via Apple script.

The Embreeology wrote:

1. This is absolutely not true.

If this statement was true, then:

If e-mail rules are correctly configured, AND

2. If e-mail rules are active, AND

3. If a new e-mail comes in, THEN

4. That e-mail should be slotted into the correct folder according to those rules.

5.

What actually is the case is:

The e-mail rules are correctly configured, AND

6. The e-mail rules are active, AND

7. A new e-mail comes in, THEN

8. The new e-mail sits unfiltered in the original repository, completely ignored by the configured and active rules.

That's because you have a problem that's unique to your setup. If you were right then you would not be the first to have posted the question. Mail rules, regardless of the email provider, have always only been automatically applied to emails in the Inbox mailbox.

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

Is there a solution yet?

I have the same problem. I have a rule set up for messages coming to my primary inbox. The rule isn't automatically applied. If I select "apply rules" then still not. Only if I SELECT a message that applies to the rules and THEN choose "apply rules", the rule is applied. But since the rule is nothing more then saving it to a specific mail-folder, I can do that just as fast manually.

This problem is indeed existing for years, so I experienced it in different versions of MacOS and Mail, I tried deleting and adding the rule, which works just the one time after changing it.

I don't believe it is supposed to work like this. I think it should apply to messages coming to my inbox, which doesn't happen.

I wouldn't understand the use of a mail rule that doesn't work like that. Can you give me an example how that would be of any help?

Email rules are only automatically applied to incoming email. If you want to apply a rule to email already received you must do so manually.

I believe it is true. I suspect you have a rule incorrectly configured.

Post a screenshot of your rules. Hide email addresses if present in the screenshot.

Rules do apply to ALL inboxes regardless of the email provider.

I just keep the "All Inboxes" group shut so all that shows is the All Inboxes.

If that rule isn’t running automatically on messages in the inbox, then something may be stopping it. Rules above it in the list could stop applying rules.

Or, it just doesn’t work.