Give your Downloads folder a working system.

How do I automatically organize Downloads on a Mac?

Try pausing and resuming folder watching with sample downloads before installing the app.

Choose the level of automation you need

For occasional cleanup, Finder and a few folders may be enough. Smart Folders help you find matching files without moving them. Automator folder actions can run workflows when files arrive, and tools such as Hazel give you configurable rules.

OCDify is useful when you want local AI to categorize readable documents by their contents and keep watching for new arrivals. It still needs categories that fit your work and a review of the initial results.

Apple’s Automator guide · Compare OCDify and Hazel

Start with three or four clear categories

• Invoices: downloaded invoices and billing documents.
• Client work: briefs, agreements, and project documents.
• Reference: articles, research notes, and guidelines.

These are suggested categories, not bundled presets or guaranteed classifications. Use names that reflect what you look for during your working day. Add more only when the distinction is useful.

Try a small folder before your whole backlog

Copy a small selection of readable documents into a test folder. Download OCDify free from the Mac App Store, complete the initial model download, and add the folder in OCDify. Run organization and check the resulting categories.

With Full Unlock, enable Smart Rename to apply clearer names during organization. Review original and new names in History after the pass, and undo a rename if needed. Free organization keeps the existing names.

Follow the complete setup walkthrough.

Understand what is being read

Content analysis works with readable documents, including text-based PDFs and supported text/document formats. With Full Unlock, OCR reads scanned PDFs and text-bearing images locally. Protected files or files without readable text may still be skipped. Images and videos can be grouped into dedicated folders; this is not visual content recognition.

OCDify 1.5.0 includes existing-folder destinations, editable extension rules, and exact duplicate review. OCR with Full Unlock reads text in scanned PDFs and supported images locally. Explore filing controls.

Keep the next week’s downloads organized

Once the results make sense, add your Downloads folder and enable automatic organization. Free users can switch the active folder whenever needed; Full Unlock can watch all selected folders. Only top-level files are organized, so existing subfolders stay untouched. Review the last seven days in History and undo a move, rename, or both if needed.

File analysis stays on your Mac. The initial model download and update checks use the internet. Read about local processing.