Subscribing to IMAP Email folders in Thunderbird

Sometimes when using an IMAP connection in Thunderbird, you may have trouble seeing any folders you created outside of Thunderbird (e.g. creating folders in webmail). In this tutorial, we will show you how to subscribe to folders in Thunderbird so you can view the contents of all of your email folders.

Using a different email client? Please see our full list of tutorials for subscribing to folders in an email client.

1. Begin by opening Thunderbird on your computer.
2. On the left side of the Thunderbird window, right click on your email account.
3. Select Subscribe from the right click menu.
4. In the Subscribe pop-up window, click the arrow beside INBOX to show the list of folders.
5. Click the folder you wish to subscribe to (hold the Ctrl key and click each folder to select multiple folders).
6. Click the Subscribe button, then the OK button.
7. If the folders do not show up below your Inbox in Thunderbird, close and restart Thunderbird.

Now you can view the contents of your IMAP folders in Thunderbird.