
- Open Thunderbird
- Click the Tools menu, and select Account Settings…
- Select Add Mail Account… from the drop-down list located under the account list on the left.

- The first dialog in Thunderbirds Automatic Account Configuration will be displayed. Enter your name, your Gmail or Google Apps email address and your password. Click Continue.

- Thunderbird will query the Gmail server and automatically configure the appropriate IMAP connection settings for your account. When complete, Thunderbird will show you a confirmation dialog similar to this one:

- Confirm that the connection settings are the same as those shown above and click Create Account.