How to automatically delete old installers on Mac

What this does

An installer only earns its keep for the few minutes it takes to run, after that it’s just taking up space. This rule waits 14 days, long enough that you’re clearly not about to reinstall something, then moves any leftover DMG or PKG file straight to the Trash. Since it goes through the Trash rather than deleting outright, and every FilesAutomator action is undoable from Activity, nothing here is a real risk.

What you’ll build

A rule that matches DMG or PKG files added more than 14 days ago, then moves each to the Trash.

Open the rule editor

This walkthrough happens inside FilesAutomator itself, so install it from the Mac App Store first if you have not already, then open it. In its toolbar, choose Add, then New Automation Rule.

Name the rule and choose a folder

Name it something like “Trash my old installers” and use Add Folder to choose your Downloads folder.

Build the condition

Leave the top group set to “All of the following are true”.

Choose Add Group to nest a second group, set its operator to “Any of the following is true”, and add two conditions inside it: Extension is dmg, and Extension is pkg.

Back in the outer group, add one more condition: Date added is more than 14 days ago.

FilesAutomator

Add the action steps

Step 1: Move to Trash

Choose Add Step, then Move to Trash. This step has no extra fields to fill in.

FilesAutomator

Turn it on

Select Create Automation Rule, then switch the rule on. From now on, installers that have sat untouched for two weeks clear themselves out on their own.

A faster way

The template gallery inside FilesAutomator already has this rule ready to install, named Trash old installers.