How to tag deeply buried files on Mac

What this does

Files that end up nested two or three subfolders deep are easy to forget about entirely, they don’t show up when you glance at the top level of a folder. This rule tags anything sitting two or more subfolders down with a Buried tag, so a quick Finder search for that tag surfaces files you might otherwise never stumble across again.

What you’ll build

A rule that matches files two or more subfolders deep, then tags each one Buried.

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 “Tag my deeply buried files” and use Add Folder to choose the folder you want watched, making sure subfolders are included in its watch scope.

Build the condition

Add a single condition: Subfolder depth is greater than 1. Depth counts from 0 directly inside the watched folder, so greater than 1 means at least two levels down, genuinely buried rather than just filed somewhere.

FilesAutomator

Add the action steps

Step 1: Add tags

Choose Add Step, then Add tags. In “Finder tags (comma separated)”, type Buried.

FilesAutomator

Turn it on

Select Create Automation Rule, then switch the rule on. Anything buried deep in this folder tree now gets tagged automatically.

A faster way

The template gallery inside FilesAutomator already has this rule ready to install, named Tag deeply buried files.