How to clean up old downloads automatically on Mac

What this does

The Downloads folder tends to accumulate everything you’ve ever grabbed off the internet, most of which you needed once and never again. This rule doesn’t delete anything, it simply moves anything that’s been sitting there for 30 days without being touched into an Old subfolder, keeping the main Downloads view down to what you’re actually using right now.

What you’ll build

A rule that matches anything added more than 30 days ago, then moves it into an Old subfolder.

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 “Sweep my old downloads” and use Add Folder to choose your Downloads folder.

Build the condition

Add a single condition: Date added is more than 30 days ago.

FilesAutomator

Add the action steps

Step 1: Sort into subfolder

Choose Add Step, then Sort into folder. In “Name the subfolder with the parts below”, use Add Part, choose Text, and type Old.

FilesAutomator

Turn it on

Select Create Automation Rule, then switch the rule on. From now on, anything left untouched in Downloads for a month quietly moves itself out of the way.

A faster way

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