How to automatically empty a scratch folder on Mac

What this does

A scratch folder, somewhere you drop things temporarily while working, is only useful if it actually stays empty. Rather than clearing it out on a schedule, this rule reacts the moment anything lands: it trashes it immediately, so the folder is always back to empty and ready for the next temporary file, with no age check at all.

What you’ll build

A rule that matches absolutely everything dropped into a folder, then trashes it right away.

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 “Empty my scratch folder automatically” and use Add Folder to choose your scratch folder.

Build the condition

Add a single condition: Subfolder depth is greater than -1. Depth is never actually negative, so this is always true, a way of matching truly every file with no exceptions, including files of zero bytes that some other conditions would skip.

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, this folder clears itself the moment anything lands in it.

A faster way

The template gallery inside FilesAutomator already has this rule ready to install, named Empty a scratch folder automatically.