# Auto-Organize Downloads Folder Powershell Script | Windows/macOS/Linux A practical PowerShell script that auto-organizes your Downloads folder and safely cleans up old files without the panic of accidental deletion. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Author: Ruhani Rabin Canonical: https://rabin.blog/auto-organize-downloads-folder-powershell-script-windows-mac-linux/ Published: 2026-08-07T08:28:57.000Z Updated: 2026-08-24T14:37:18.000Z Your Downloads folder is a graveyard. PDFs from 2023, installer files for software you already installed, and random screenshots you took once and never looked at again. > And every time you open it, you think: *“I should clean this up.”* > > Then you don’t. I built this script because I was tired (and also lazy) of that cycle. It’s not fancy stuff. It just works. ## The Problem Nobody Talks About Most “cleanup” solutions are too aggressive. They delete stuff you needed. Or they’re too manual, which means you won’t do it. The sweet spot is: 1. **Auto-sort** downloads by type so you can find things 2. **Stage** old files for deletion, don’t nuke them immediately 3. **Give you a grace period** to recover anything you actually need That’s exactly what this script does. ## How It Works (The 90-Day Rule) ```plaintext Day 0: Download lands in root → Auto-sorted to category folder Day 60: Still untouched in Documents/Images → Moved to Trash-Temp Day 90: Still in Trash-Temp → Permanently deleted ``` **Total lifecycle: 90 days.** That’s enough time to realize you need something, but not so long that you’re hoarding garbage forever. ### The Folder Structure ```plaintext Downloads/ ├── 01-Software/ # .exe, .msi, .dmg, .pkg ├── 02-WordPress/ # Plugin/theme ZIPs (pattern-matched) ├── 03-Documents/ # PDFs, Office docs, CSVs ├── 04-Images/ # Screenshots, photos, videos ├── 05-Archives/ # .zip, .7z, .rar ├── 06-Code-Scripts/ # .py, .js, .json, etc. └── 99-Trash-Temp/ # Staging area for deletion ``` ## Safety First The script **never** touches: * The script file itself * The log file * Anything outside your Downloads folder Files aren’t deleted immediately. They sit in `99-Trash-Temp` for 30 days. If you panic, you can recover them. The log tells you exactly what was moved and when. ## Setup Instructions ### Windows 11 (Native) 1. **Download the script** from **[\[GIST\]](https://gist.github.com/ruhanirabin/7849c1e4954784a0a629d761f2274622)** 2. **Place it** in your Downloads folder (e.g., `D:\Data\Downloads\2026\`) 3. **Edit the path** in the script (line ~17) to match your Downloads location: `$BasePath = "C:\Users\YourName\Downloads"` 4. **Run once manually** to test: `cd D:\Data\Downloads\2026 .\Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1 -WhatIf `The `-WhatIf` flag shows what it *would* do without actually doing it. 5. **Schedule it** to run weekly: `$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" -Argument "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File D:\Data\Downloads\2026\Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1" $Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -DaysOfWeek Sunday -At "09:00" $Settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -StartWhenAvailable -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Downloads Cleanup" -Action $Action -Trigger $Trigger -Settings $Settings` ### macOS PowerShell works on macOS. Install it: ```plaintext brew install powershell ``` Then follow the Windows instructions, but change paths: ```plaintext $BasePath = "/Users/YourName/Downloads" ``` For scheduling, use `launchd` instead of Task Scheduler. Create `~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.downloads.cleanup.plist`: ```plaintext Label com.downloads.cleanup ProgramArguments /usr/local/bin/pwsh -File /Users/YourName/Downloads/Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1 StartCalendarInterval Weekday 1 Hour 9 Minute 0 ``` Load it: ```plaintext launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.downloads.cleanup.plist ``` ### Linux Install PowerShell: ```plaintext # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt update sudo apt install -y powershell # Or install from Microsoft repo (recommended) wget -q "https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/$(lsb_release -rs)/packages-microsoft-prod.deb" sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb sudo apt update sudo apt install -y powershell ``` Edit the script path: ```plaintext $BasePath = "/home/YourName/Downloads" ``` Use `cron` for scheduling: ```plaintext # Edit crontab crontab -e # Add line for Sunday 9 AM 0 9 * * 0 /usr/bin/pwsh -File /home/YourName/Downloads/Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1 ``` ## Configurable Variables At the top of the script, you can adjust: ```plaintext param( [switch]$WhatIf, # Dry run mode [int]$TrashDays = 30, # Days before trash is deleted (default: 30) [int]$AgingDays = 60 # Days before aging to trash (default: 60) ) ``` **More aggressive cleanup:** ```plaintext .\Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1 -AgingDays 30 -TrashDays 14 ``` **More lenient:** ```plaintext .\Downloads-Weekly-Cleanup.ps1 -AgingDays 90 -TrashDays 60 ``` ## Customizing File Patterns The script has two places you can customize: ### 1. Extension-to-Folder Mapping (~line 30) ```plaintext $Folders = @{ '01-Software' = @('.exe', '.msi', '.msix', '.dmg', '.pkg') '03-Documents' = @('.pdf', '.docx', '.csv', '.txt') '04-Images' = @('.jpg', '.png', '.mp4', '.mov') # ... add your own } ``` ### 2. WordPress Patterns (~line 44) If you work with WordPress, add plugin patterns: ```plaintext $WordPressPatterns = @( '*placescale*.zip', '*woocommerce*.zip', '*your-plugin*.zip' ) ``` ## What the Log Looks Like ```plaintext [2026-03-26 17:36:15] [INFO] Organization complete: 0 moved, 0 skipped, 0 errors [2026-03-26 17:36:15] [WARN] Aged file moved: [03-Documents] old-invoice.pdf (79d old) [2026-03-26 17:36:15] [WARN] Deleted: jetbrains-fonts.zip (12.49 MB) - Last modified: 01/25/2026 ``` Everything is timestamped. If you need to recover something, you’ll know exactly when it was moved or deleted. ## Why Not Just Use Any Existing Tool? * **CCleaner/BleachBit:** Too aggressive. No staging. You find out too late. * **macOS Automator:** Works, but fragile. Breaks silently. * **Manual cleanup:** You won’t do it. Would you? > This script gives you structure *and* safety. The 90-day lifecycle means you’re not hoarding, but you’re also not panicking. ## Download Get the script from **[\[](https://gist.github.com/ruhanirabin/7849c1e4954784a0a629d761f2274622) [GIST](https://gist.github.com/ruhanirabin/7849c1e4954784a0a629d761f2274622) [\]](https://gist.github.com/ruhanirabin/7849c1e4954784a0a629d761f2274622)** Fork it. Modify it. Make it yours. The code is straightforward PowerShell—no dependencies, no external calls, no surprises. *** I use this every week. It works. ## Related reading * [Back up a Dockerized n8n instance to GitHub or GitLab](https://rabin.blog/automated-backups-dockerized-n8n-sqlite-gitlab-github/) * [Back up and restore Home Assistant with Git](https://rabin.blog/how-to-automatically-backup-restore-home-assistant-github-gitlab/)