How to Make Email Links Open Gmail Instead of Apple Mail on Mac

On a Mac, email links (mailto: links) open in whatever app is set as the default email reader, and that is Apple Mail unless you change it. Gmail is a website, not an app, so you can't pick it directly. The usual workaround is to let Gmail handle email links inside Chrome, then set Chrome as the default email reader in Mail's settings. An app made for this can also open Gmail compose for you, as the account you choose.

Here is how each way works and where it falls short.

#Why email links open Apple Mail

When you click an email address on a web page or in an app, macOS looks up which app handles mailto: links and gives the link to it. Out of the box that's Mail, so Mail opens and asks you to set up an account, even if you never use it.

There is no Gmail entry in that list, because Gmail lives in your browser. So the job has two halves: get the link to your browser, then get the browser to hand it to Gmail.

#Way 1: Let Gmail handle email links in Chrome

Chrome lets a website register itself as the handler for a kind of link. Gmail does this for email links.

1. Open Gmail in Chrome and sign in.
2. Look at the right end of the address bar for the handler icon, which looks like two overlapping diamonds.
3. Click it, choose to allow Gmail to open email links, and click Done.

If you don't see the icon, open Chrome's Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Protocol handlers (you can also type chrome://settings/handlers in the address bar) and make sure sites are allowed to ask. Google lists this permission on its page about site settings in Chrome.

What it can't do: this only covers email links you click on web pages inside Chrome. Links in other apps still go to Mail. The setting also belongs to one Chrome profile, so each profile that should use Gmail needs it set separately.

#Way 2: Make Chrome the default email reader

To catch email links from other apps too, tell macOS to send them to Chrome. Oddly, the setting lives in the Mail app, not in System Settings. Apple's steps, from Change the default web browser or email app on Mac:

1. Open the Mail app. It must be set up with an email account first. If it isn't, Mail won't let you change this setting, so add any account; Apple notes you can remove or turn it off again afterwards.
2. In the menu bar, choose Mail > Settings.
3. Click General.
4. Open the Default email reader pop-up menu and choose Google Chrome. If it isn't listed, choose Select and pick Chrome in the file dialog.

What it can't do: Apple warns that a browser chosen here might not open webmail automatically when you click email links. You also don't get to choose where the link goes. If you have more than one Chrome profile, or more than one Google account, the email opens wherever Chrome decides, which may not be the address you meant to write from. And setting it up means adding an account to Mail, an app you are trying not to use.

#What about Safari?

Safari has no setting for letting a website like Gmail handle email links. If Safari is your browser, the Mail setting above can still point email links at another app, but there is no built-in way to send them to Gmail in Safari.

#The faster way: LinkRouter

LinkRouter is a small Mac app we make for exactly this. It becomes the app that handles email links, without going through Mail's settings and without needing a Mail account: open LinkRouter's settings and click Use LinkRouter for Email Links.

From then on, clicking an email link shows a small picker at your mouse:

• Every Google account, from every Chrome profile. LinkRouter reads which accounts are signed in to each profile, including Google Workspace accounts and profiles with more than one account signed in.
• Pick one with a number key and Gmail compose opens in the Chrome profile that owns that account, with the To, Cc, Bcc, subject and body from the link already filled in.
• It won't send from the wrong address. If the account you picked is no longer signed in to that profile, Gmail would quietly write from another account, so LinkRouter asks you again instead of opening it.
• Rules by recipient. Hold ⌘ while you pick, or add a rule in settings, so that mail to @northwind.co always composes from your work account.
• Mail apps stay available. Apple Mail and other mail apps are in the picker too, and ⌘C just copies the address.

It costs $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 Macs or $15 for 5 Macs, paid once. The same picker also handles web links; see how to open links in a specific Chrome profile on Mac.

#FAQ

#Can I set Gmail as the default email app on Mac?

Not directly, because Gmail is a website. You can set Chrome as the default email reader in Mail's settings and let Gmail handle email links in Chrome, or use an app such as LinkRouter that opens Gmail compose for you.

#Why is "Default email reader" greyed out or missing in Mail?

Mail only lets you change it once Mail is set up with an email account. Add any account, change the setting, then remove or turn off the account if you don't want it in Mail.

#Why do email links open Gmail with the wrong account?

Gmail composes from an account signed in to the Chrome profile the link landed in. If the link opened in the wrong profile, or that profile has several accounts, you get whichever one Gmail picks. LinkRouter avoids this by opening compose in the profile that owns the account you chose.

#Do I need Apple Mail set up to use LinkRouter for email links?

No. LinkRouter makes itself the handler for email links directly, so Mail doesn't need an account.

#Does this work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes. Workspace accounts have a Gmail inbox, and LinkRouter lists them next to personal Gmail accounts in the picker.