How to Pin Gmail to the Taskbar in Windows 11

To pin Gmail to the taskbar in Windows 11, open mail.google.com in Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more (the three dots), then select More tools > Pin to taskbar. In Chrome, install Gmail as an app from the menu first, then right-click its taskbar icon and select Pin to taskbar. Firefox 143 and later can do it with the web apps button in the address bar.

This covers current Windows 11 with current versions of Edge, Chrome, and Firefox. The Edge and Chrome steps are the same on Windows 10, which Microsoft stopped supporting on October 14, 2025.

These steps pin Gmail on the web. Google’s Gmail instructions for computers are for the browser version, so a pinned site or an installed web app is the way to get a Gmail icon on the taskbar. A web app is a website that your browser installs so it opens in its own window, like a regular program.

Before You Start

• Windows version: these steps are written for Windows 11. Menu names can change with browser updates, so update your browser if a label looks different.
• Browser: you need Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox 143 or later. If you installed Firefox from the Microsoft Store, Mozilla says you need version 150 or later.
• Account: sign in to Gmail in that browser and make sure the inbox you want is on screen before you pin it.
• What you get: a shortcut. Pinning doesn’t move or copy your mail, which stays in your Google Account.

Pin Gmail With Microsoft Edge

Edge is the shortest route because it has a pin command built in.

1. Open Edge and go to mail.google.com. Sign in if you need to.
2. Select the three-dot Settings and more menu at the top right.
3. Select More tools, then Pin to taskbar.
4. If Edge or Windows asks you to confirm, accept the prompt.

A Gmail shortcut is added to the taskbar. Select it to open your inbox in Edge.

Microsoft’s Edge pin to taskbar page covers this feature. The steps aren’t specific to Gmail, so you can also add any website to the taskbar.

Install Gmail as an app in Edge instead

Use this if you want Gmail in its own window, separate from your other tabs.

1. With Gmail open in Edge, select Settings and more > More tools > Apps > Install this site as an app. In some versions of Edge, Apps sits directly in the Settings and more menu.
2. Select Install. Gmail opens in a separate app window.
3. Type edge://apps in the Edge address bar and press Enter. The Apps page lists every site you have installed.
4. Select Details on the Gmail card, then select Pin to taskbar.

The same Details screen has Pin to Start and Create Desktop shortcut. It also has an Auto-start on device login switch; turn it on if you want Gmail to open by itself each time you sign in to Windows. Microsoft lists these options on its support page Install, manage, or uninstall apps in Microsoft Edge.

These install and pin steps work for any site, for example installing JioHotstar as an app on Windows 11.

Pin Gmail With Google Chrome

Chrome has no direct pin command, so you install Gmail as a web app and then pin the open app. If you also want email links to open in Gmail, set Gmail as the default email in Chrome.

1. Open Chrome and go to mail.google.com.
2. Select the three-dot More menu at the top right.
3. Select Cast, save, and share, then Install page as app.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions and select Install. Gmail opens in its own window, and its icon appears on the taskbar while it is open.
5. Right-click that Gmail icon on the taskbar and select Pin to taskbar.

The icon now stays on the taskbar after you close Gmail. Google covers the install step in its guide to using web apps in Chrome. Chrome also has a Create shortcut command in the same Cast, save, and share menu, explained on Google’s Create shortcuts for websites in Chrome page. It makes a desktop shortcut rather than a web app. For that route, read how to put a Gmail icon on your desktop.

Pin Gmail With Firefox

1. Open Firefox 143 or later in a regular window and go to mail.google.com.
2. Select the web apps button in the address bar. Firefox installs the site and adds a shortcut to the Start menu.

3. If a notification asks whether to pin the app to the taskbar, select Yes.

If you skip that prompt, you can pin it later like any other app. Firefox web apps also appear in a Firefox Web Apps folder in the Start menu, which is the easiest place to find Gmail if you closed it before pinning. A Firefox web app has no tab bar or bookmarks toolbar, and its address bar is read-only. Web apps don’t work in private windows, and uninstalling Firefox removes every Firefox web app. Mozilla’s Use web apps in Firefox for Windows page explains these limits.

If you use another browser that has no install or pin command, the simplest reliable route is to pin Gmail with Edge, which comes with Windows 11, and use your usual browser for everything else.

Pinned Site or Installed App: Which to Choose

Method	How Gmail opens	Good for
Edge Pin to taskbar	From a taskbar shortcut, in Edge	The fewest steps
Edge Install this site as an app	In a separate app window	Keeping mail apart from other tabs, or opening Gmail at sign-in
Chrome Install page as app	In its own window	Chrome users
Firefox web apps button	In its own window, without tabs	Firefox 143 and later

Confirm It Worked and Move the Icon

1. Close every Gmail window and tab.
2. Look for the Gmail icon on the taskbar. It should still be there.
3. Select it once. Your inbox should open without typing an address. If Gmail shows a sign-in page instead, sign in as usual.

To change where the icon sits, drag it left or right along the taskbar. For other ways to pin apps, read about pinning to the taskbar in Windows 11.

To put a custom picture on a pinned desktop program, change its app icon on Windows 11.

Pin a Second Gmail Account

A pin opens whichever Gmail page was on screen when you made it. If you are signed in to more than one Google Account, select your profile picture at the top right of Gmail, choose the other account, and wait for that inbox to load. Then pin or install that page the same way.

A different profile picture on each account helps you spot which inbox is open, so it may help to set a Gmail profile picture for each one.

Gmail addresses for extra accounts include a number, such as mail.google.com/mail/u/1/. Open the new pin once to check which inbox appears. Give each installed app a clear name when the install box asks for one, such as Gmail Work and Gmail Personal, so the taskbar tooltips tell them apart.

Turn On Gmail Notifications

A pinned icon doesn’t alert you to new mail by itself. Gmail can show desktop notifications, but only while you are signed in and Gmail is open in the browser.

1. Open Gmail and select Settings (the gear), then See all settings.
2. Scroll to Desktop notifications.
3. Select New mail notifications on or Important mail notifications on.

4. Select Save Changes at the bottom of the page, and allow notifications if the browser asks.

These steps come from Google’s Gmail notifications help. Notifications won’t appear if you turned off all notifications for your browser. If you use inbox categories, new mail notifications only cover the Primary category.

Windows has to allow them too. Go to Settings > System > Notifications and make sure your browser is turned on under Notifications from apps and other senders. You can also show an unread count on the Gmail tab by turning on the unread message icon in Gmail.

Unpin or Uninstall Gmail

To remove the icon only, right-click it on the taskbar and select Unpin from taskbar. Nothing in your Gmail account changes.

Unpinning leaves an installed web app on the PC. To remove the app as well:

• Chrome: open the Gmail app, select More at the top right of its window, then Uninstall Gmail > Remove. Leave the option to also delete data from Chrome unchecked unless you want Chrome to clear its saved Gmail site data too.
• Edge: go to edge://apps, select Details on the Gmail card, then Uninstall. Edge asks whether to delete the app’s history and data before you confirm.
• Firefox: select the web apps button in the app’s address bar to move the page back into Firefox. When it is the last open window for that site, the web app is uninstalled and its taskbar pin is removed. Unpinning a Firefox web app from the taskbar alone leaves its Start menu shortcut in place.

If You Can’t Pin Gmail

• Pin to taskbar is missing in Edge: pinning can be affected by browser settings, device settings, or organization-managed policies. On a work or school PC, ask your administrator.
• The Gmail app is open but not pinned: right-click its icon on the taskbar and select Pin to taskbar. This works for any open app, as described in Customize the Taskbar in Windows.
• The Gmail app is closed: type Gmail in the search box on the taskbar, right-click the installed app, and select Pin to taskbar.
• No web apps button in Firefox: check that you have version 143 or later (150 or later from the Microsoft Store), that you are not in a private window, and then restart Firefox.
• A Firefox web app won’t open: check that Firefox is still installed, then remove the web app and add it again.
• Edge has no Install this site as an app option: on a work or school PC, your organization may manage this part of Edge. Use Pin to taskbar instead, or ask your administrator.
• A Firefox web app didn’t come back after an update or crash: open it from the taskbar or the Firefox Web Apps folder in the Start menu. If that fails, open Firefox and install the web app again.
• Chrome shows Install at the right of the address bar: on some sites Chrome offers that button, and it does the same job as the menu command.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Step

Pin Gmail with the browser you already use, close it, and open it once from the taskbar to confirm it works. Then turn on desktop notifications if you want alerts for new mail.