How to organize the Downloads folder on a Mac, and keep it that way
Organize your Mac's Downloads folder in 15 minutes: sort by kind, keep what matters, clear installers, then set it up so it stays sorted on its own.
Treat Downloads as an inbox, not a storage place. Open it in list view, group by Kind, and clear it one group at a time: keep the documents and photos you need by moving them out, trash installers and archives you’ve used. Then make it stay sorted, with a weekly habit or an automation.
Clear it in 15 minutes
- Open Downloads (⌥⌘L) and switch to list view (⌘2).
- Choose View > Use Groups, then View > Group By > Kind.
- Disk Images and Installer packages: if the app is installed, select the group and trash it.
- ZIP archives: if the unzipped folder sits next to it, trash the ZIP.
- PDFs and documents: move the ones you keep to a folder in Documents, trash the rest.
- Images and screenshots: move keepers to Pictures, trash the rest.
- Empty the Trash.
A structure inside Downloads (if you keep things there)
If you don’t want to move files out, at least sort them in place: one folder per kind, Documents, Images, Archives, Apps, and loose files only for this week. That’s the structure Declutr builds.
Keep it sorted
- Weekly habit: every Friday, repeat the steps above. It takes five minutes when it’s weekly.
- Shortcuts (macOS 26 Tahoe): Automation > + > Folder trigger on Downloads, when files are added; filter by extension, Move File to its folder. One filter per kind of file.
- Automator (older versions): a Folder Action on Downloads with Filter Finder Items and Move Finder Items.
- Declutr Pro: a watched Downloads folder, sorted as each file lands, or a daily scheduled cleanup.
More on where downloads go: where are my downloads on a Mac? And on clearing them: how to delete downloads on a Mac.
Downloads, sorted in one click
DeclutrDeclutr sorts Downloads into category folders by file type: Documents, Images, Videos, Audio, Archives (including .dmg and .pkg), Apps, Code & Scripts, 3D Models and more. It leaves your existing folders where they are, skips system files, and one Undo button puts every file back.
The sort is free. Pro, a one-time $8.99 purchase in the US, watches Downloads and sorts each new file as it lands, runs a daily cleanup, and adds rules by name, extension, age or size. It needs macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Questions people ask
How do I organize my Downloads folder on a Mac?
Open Downloads in list view, group by Kind (View > Use Groups), and handle one group at a time: move documents you keep to Documents, photos to Pictures, and trash installers (.dmg, .pkg) and archives you've already opened. Then sort new files as they arrive, weekly or with an automation.
Can I make my Mac sort downloads automatically?
Yes. On macOS 26 Tahoe, a Shortcuts automation with a Folder trigger on Downloads can move new files by extension; on older versions, an Automator Folder Action does the same. Declutr Pro does it with no rule to build: it watches Downloads and sorts each new file as it lands.
Should I change where my browser saves downloads?
Usually not. Keeping one Downloads folder as an inbox is simpler; ask the browser to always ask where to save only if you file most downloads right away.