Organization & Productivity

Hazel rules that keep Downloads, Desktop and Inbox folders tidy

A 2015 post shows time-based rules that unzip downloads and move untouched desktop and inbox files along automatically.

Done withHazel

Older example (2015); some steps are dated


WHAT THEY DID

Drew Barontini’s rules unzip downloads and trash the archive, move desktop files not opened in an hour to an Inbox folder, move inbox files untouched for two weeks to a “To File” folder, and upload images dropped in a staging folder to a server, copying the link.

HOW IT WENT

He presents it as part of a workflow-automation series; no measured results.

WORTH KNOWING

From 2015. The FTP upload step is outdated, and timestamp-based rules can move files you still need, so test on copies.

Read the original ↗

Rates the entry, not the tool.

Source: Drew Barontini · Nov 3, 2015Open as a page

About this source

Type: First-person workflow · Firsthand report · Older example, not a recent development

  1. Workflow Automation: Hazel - Drew Barontini
    Drew Barontini · Drew Barontini · Published Nov 3, 2015 · Checked Oct 20, 2026
    Primary account or publisher hosting the account.
    Access: Page text was read during research.

Source check: Spot-checked by the 4TC build team on Oct 20, 2026. Re-read on 2026-10-20 for the second research pass. Nobody at 4TC has tested this.

Votes rate whether this entry was useful. They are not an endorsement of the tool, and don’t mean voters agree with the company’s practices.

Added to 4TC Oct 20, 2026 · Last checked Oct 20, 2026

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