Automatically Cleanup Your Downloads Folder

Free Automator Script for OSX

I consider myself the furthest thing from a hoarder. But you might think differently if you were to look at my downloads folder. 1,562 files and growing faster than a speeding train.

I decided that it was worth the time to write something that would handle a quick cleanup automatically. Those files add up quick, especially on a Macbook Air, space is crucial and that downloads folder is a black hole. After a few minutes in Automator, I created something that’s pretty robust.

Cleanup is a tiny Automator app that keeps your downloads folder clean, automatically.

How it works:

Are you a download maniac? Set cleanup to happen every week or if you have a serious download problem, every day.

Simply create a calendar event on the day you want the cleanup to occur. The settings here are endless but here’s what I’ve found works best for me. Cleanup will only move the contents of your downloads folder to the trash. This way, if you realize there is something you wanted to keep, you have the opportunity to retrieve it.

Download • Version 1.0

Caveat: For some reason the calendar won’t be able to run the script until you have run it once manually. So after downloading the file, double-click to run once and you should be good.

Afterthought: It may be possible to write a script that rather than moving all contents to the trash only moves files over a week old.

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