Official Documentation and Explanation on how to properly delete a message

Here are the key Google documents that explain the correct process:

1. Gmail IMAP Extensions - Access to Gmail labels (X-GM-LABELS)

   • Link: https://developers.google.com/gmail/imap/imap-extensions#access_to_gmail_labels_x-gm-labels
   • Explanation from this document: This developer documentation explains that Gmail provides a custom X-GM-LABELS IMAP attribute. You can use the STORE command with this attribute to modify the labels on a message. The documentation explicitly lists \Trash and \Spam as valid labels you can add. This is the correct, Google-supported IMAP command for applying the "Trash" label to a message, which is the necessary first step for deletion.

2. How Gmail works with IMAP clients - "How messages are organized"

   • Link: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229?hl=en#zippy=%2Chow-messages-are-organized
   • Explanation from this document: This Google Support page clarifies the relationship between folders and labels. Critically, under the "How messages are organized" section, it states: "Messages in Trash and Spam are not included in "All Mail."" This confirms that applying the \Trash or \Spam label is the specific action that removes a message from the general "All Mail" archive, putting it into a state where it can be permanently deleted.

The Correct Two-Step Process

Based on the documentation, the reliable way to move a message to the Trash and permanently delete it is:

1. Apply the \Trash Label: Use the UID STORE ... +X-GM-LABELS (\\Trash) command on the message in its original folder (e.g., INBOX). This effectively moves it to the [Gmail]/Trash folder.
2. Expunge from Trash: SELECT the "[Gmail]/Trash" folder, mark that same message with the \Deleted flag, and then run the EXPUNGE command.

Understanding Gmail's Label System: The "All Mail" Archive

In Gmail, the traditional concept of folders is replaced by a more flexible system of labels. The only true "folder" that holds all of your email is the "All Mail" archive. Everything else that appears to be a folder, including your Inbox, is simply a label applied to a message.

1. How Gmail Works with IMAP Clients ("How messages are organized")

   • Link: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229?hl=en#zippy=%2Chow-messages-are-organized
   • Explanation from this document: This Google Support page explains that Gmail only keeps one copy of every message. This single copy is located in your "All Mail" view. The document clarifies that when a message appears in a "folder" like the Inbox, it's not a separate copy. Instead, the message in "All Mail" has an "Inbox" label applied to it, making it visible in that view. This confirms that "All Mail" is the master archive, and other views are just filtered representations based on labels.

2. Creating Labels to Organize Gmail (User Guide)

   • Link: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/118708?hl=en
   • Explanation from this document: This guide demonstrates that the "folders" users create are, in fact, labels. It highlights a key feature impossible with traditional folders: you can apply multiple labels to a single email. This allows one message from your "All Mail" archive to appear in several different organizational categories (e.g., "Work," "Projects," and "Urgent") simultaneously, reinforcing that these are not separate folder locations but descriptive tags.

3. Access to Gmail Labels via IMAP (X-GM-LABELS) (Developer Guide)

   • Link: https://developers.google.com/gmail/imap/imap-extensions#access_to_gmail_labels_x-gm-labels
   • Explanation from this document: This technical documentation provides the definitive programmatic proof. It shows that manipulating so-called "folders" is done by modifying a message's labels through the X-GM-LABELS attribute. Even system-critical locations like the Inbox, Spam, and Trash are treated as special labels (\Inbox, \Spam, \Trash). This confirms that from a technical standpoint, there is no "move" operation between folders, only the adding and removing of labels on the single message copy that always resides in "All Mail" until it is moved to Trash or Spam.