take66Software

TAKE66 SOFTWARE / PRODUCTS / MAIL SHEPHERD / HELP / APP STORE

Getting Started.

Mail Shepherd 3.0 for the Mac App Store (build 535) · Updated October 24, 2026

The sidebar

The pages from Settings to Automate have Back and Next at the bottom, so you can work through them in order. Mail Shepherd opens on Settings the first time, and whenever there’s no account yet; after that it opens on the page you last used.

Your first run

  1. Add your iCloud account. On Settings, click + under Accounts. Enter your iCloud address, click Create App Password… to make an app-specific password on account.apple.com, paste it, then click Test Connection and Save. Add each iCloud account you want to clean up.
  2. Read your contacts. On Contacts, click Refresh. Mail from your contacts is never treated as junk. A Sweep needs your contacts, and it brings them up to date by itself before it starts.
  3. Optional: link Mail’s Blocked Sender List. On Settings, click Link… beside Mail’s Blocked Sender List, then Link, so the senders you’ve blocked in Mail count as blocked here too.
  4. Look over your mail. Review Blocked lists mail in Junk and Trash from blocked senders and Blocked Domains; Review Junk lists the rest of your junk. Click a message for its details, where you can block its sender or domain, or move it to the Inbox.
  5. Run a Sweep. On Sweep, click Sweep. It marks unread Trash read, moves junk to Trash, moves junk from your contacts and Allowed Domains to the Inbox when it’s confirmed to be really from them, and moves mail from Blocked Domains out of your Inbox. Every change goes to the Action Log.
  6. Turn on Auto-Sweep. On Automate, choose how often Auto-Sweep runs, so Mail Shepherd keeps your mailbox clean while it’s open and you’re not using it (see Automate for exactly when it runs). To keep it open, turn on Open at Login on Settings.

Keep using Mail. Mail Shepherd works with iCloud directly, so you can use Mail, or any other mail app, while it runs. ⌘. stops a Sweep or a Review action after the current step.

After that

Run a Sweep whenever junk piles up, or let Auto-Sweep do it, then review what’s left on Review Blocked and Review Junk. To block or allow whole domains, use Blocked Domains and Allowed Domains.

Mail Shepherd doesn’t tell you when something is finished: the page simply updates. If something goes wrong, an orange warning icon appears on the page; point at it to read the problem, or click it to open the Action Log.

Was this page helpful? Tell us.