Step-by-Step Guide: Extract Emails from Gmail to Google Sheets

Got it! Here’s a step-by-step guide in plain words for extracting email addresses from Gmail messages using Google Sheets and Google Apps Script.

Step-by-Step Process:

Step 1: Create a Google Sheet

Open your web browser and go to Google Sheets.
Create a new spreadsheet by clicking on the Blank option.

Step 2: Open the Google Apps Script Editor

Inside your Google Sheet, go to the Extensions menu on the top bar.
From the dropdown menu, select Apps Script. This will open the Apps Script editor.

Step 3: Write the Script in Apps Script

In the Apps Script editor, you will see an empty editor window. You need to add a custom script to extract email addresses.
Copy and Paste the following script into the editor:
- The script will search through your Gmail inbox, collect the email addresses from the “From”, “To”, and “CC” fields, and then list them in your Google Sheet.
(This script is already provided above, but you can ignore the code if you just want a high-level guide.)
After pasting the script, click the Save button (disk icon) to save your script.

Step 4: Run the Script

Once the script is saved, click on the Run button (the triangle icon).
The script will start executing, and a pop-up will appear asking for permission to access your Gmail account.

Step 5: Authorize the Script

When the permission pop-up appears, click Review Permissions.
Choose the Google account you are using.
Click Allow to grant permission for the script to access your Gmail account and Google Sheets.

Step 6: Extract Email Addresses

The script will now run and start extracting the email addresses from the Gmail threads in your inbox.
After the script finishes running, you will automatically be returned to your Google Sheet.

Step 7: Check the Extracted Email Addresses

The Google Sheet will now contain the list of extracted email addresses.
The email addresses will be listed in the first column, starting with the header “Email Addresses”.

Step 8: Clean the Data (Optional)

If necessary, you can clean the list by removing duplicates or unwanted entries:
- Use Google Sheets’ built-in features like “Remove duplicates” or manually delete any entries you don’t need.

Result:

Now, you will have a Google Sheet with all the extracted email addresses from your Gmail inbox. You can use this list for whatever purpose you need (e.g., organizing contacts or creating a mailing list).

This is a non-technical, simple explanation of how to extract email addresses from Gmail using Google Sheets and Apps Script.