I would like to backup all messages without a label from Gmail. Those messages are basically all personal archived messages. I don't want the thousands of messages that are labeled for the various mailing lists that I am subscribed to, etc.
Is it possible to download only messages without label via POP3, IMAP, or whatever?
Best Answer
I'm not aware that it is possible to query Gmail for unlabeled emails using the POP3 or IMAP protocols.
One solution to bypass this is to go to Gmail, find all those emails and label them with a new label (perhaps temporary). Then, pick the "IMAP folder" (which is actually a label in Gmail world) with that same new label name to download, and retrieve the archived folder as an .mbox file.
I'm assuming you already know how to search for unlabeled messages in Gmail, but for anyone who wouldn't know, check this answer: How can I filter my Gmail messages that aren't labeled?