# Downloaded From: find where a file was downloaded from on your Mac

Downloaded From is the OneMacTools screen that shows where each file on your Mac was downloaded from. It reads the details macOS saves with every download, the address it came from and the app that saved it, and groups your files into sources such as Gmail, WhatsApp, Canva, ChatGPT, X, Slack, Google Drive, AirDrop and GitHub, with any other website in its own group. Click a source to see, sort, search or automate its files.

## How to open Downloaded From

Click **Downloaded From** in the sidebar, under Your Mac, or press ⇧⌘J (**Go › Downloaded From**). You can also click **See All Sources** on [Home](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/mac-home-dashboard), where the same sources appear as chips for the last 90 days.

The first time it opens, you’ll see “Looking through your downloads…” for a moment. The title bar then shows a count such as “72 files · 12 sources”. Click **Refresh** in the toolbar to look again after a busy day.

![OneMacTools Downloaded From page with cards for Gmail, WhatsApp, Canva, ChatGPT, X, Slack, Google Drive, AirDrop, Extensions, GitHub and any website](https://www.onemactools.com/screens/downloaded-from.png)
*Downloaded From: every download, grouped by where you got it.*

Each card shows the source’s name, how many files and how much space they take, and thumbnails of the three newest. Cards are sorted by number of files, with **Any website** always last.

## Every source it recognises

Known services get their own card, icon and colour. A file is matched to a service by the web address it came from (including that service’s file servers, such as Gmail’s attachment server) or, for apps that save files without an address, by the app’s name.

| Kind | Sources |
| --- | --- |
| Email | Gmail, Outlook, Mail |
| Messaging and calls | WhatsApp, Telegram, Messages, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Zoom |
| AI assistants | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini |
| Design and notes | Canva, Figma, Notion |
| Social | X (and Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube |
| Cloud storage and transfer | Google Drive (including Docs), Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive (and SharePoint), Box, iCloud, WeTransfer |
| Code | GitHub |
| Nearby | AirDrop |
| Browser add-ons | **Extensions**: files saved by a browser extension |

Anything from another website goes into **Any website**. Open it and use the **Site** menu to pick one site; it lists up to 60 sites with how many files came from each, using the site’s plain name (“example.co.uk”, not “files.cdn.example.co.uk”).

## How OneMacTools knows where a file came from

When you download a file, macOS stores two small pieces of information with it:

- **Where from**: the address of the file and usually the page you got it from. It’s what Finder shows as “Where from” in **Get Info**.
- **The quarantine flag**: the name of the app that saved the file, which macOS uses for its “downloaded from the internet” warning.

OneMacTools reads both, on your Mac, and works the source out in this order: a browser-extension address means **Extensions**; then a known service’s address; then a known app’s name (this is how **AirDrop** and apps like WhatsApp are recognised, since they save no address); and finally the website the page came from, preferring the page over the file server. Nothing is sent anywhere to do this.

To find files, it asks Spotlight for every file in your home folder that has a “where from” address, and also looks through your Downloads folder and the folders inside it, for AirDrop files and app saves that have no address. Files inside your Library folder are left out.

> **Tip:** A file only appears if macOS kept its download details. If they’ve been removed, or the file never had them (for example, something you made yourself), it isn’t listed, because there’s nothing honest to say about where it came from.

## Working with one source’s files

Click a card to open that source. **All sources** at the top takes you back.

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Automate…** | Opens a new Watch Folder rule for your Downloads folder with this source chosen. Shown for known services, not for Any website. |
| **Ask…** | Opens Ask with “from Gmail ” (or this source) typed, ready for you to add what you want. |
| **Site** | Any website only: show all websites or just one. |
| **Sort** | **Newest**, **Oldest**, **Largest**, **Smallest** or **Name**. |

Files are shown as cards, the same as on Home: a thumbnail, its name, size and when it arrived, and a one-click next step such as **Convert to JPEG**, **Summarise** or **Compress to 25 MB**. Click a thumbnail for Quick Look, double-click to open it, drag it into another app, or right-click for **Show in Finder** and **Open With a Tool…**. The newest 600 files of a source are shown; for more, “Use Ask to narrow them down.”

## Real examples: what people use it for

- **Find that attachment.** Someone emailed you a contract last month and you can’t remember its name. Open **Gmail**, sort by **Newest**, and it’s in the first row. Or use Ask: “pdfs from Gmail last month”.
- **Tidy what the AI made.** Every image and file you’ve saved from ChatGPT or Claude is in one place. Select them in Finder from **Show in Finder**, or send them to [Tidy a Folder](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/tidy-folder).
- **Clear out chat media.** WhatsApp and Telegram downloads pile up. Open the source, sort by **Largest**, and delete what you don’t need, or shrink big videos with [Compress Video](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/compress-video).
- **Check a file’s origin.** Not sure where an installer came from? It’s under the website it was downloaded from, or under **Extensions** if a browser extension saved it.

## How to automate files from one source

Because every download carries its source, you can make a rule that only acts on files from one place. For example, turn every HEIC photo that arrives from WhatsApp into a JPEG, or file every PDF from Gmail into an Invoices folder.

1. Open the source (or right-click its chip on Home) and click **Automate…** (on Home, **Automate Files From …**).
2. A new Watch Folder rule opens, already watching Downloads and already limited to that source.
3. Choose what should happen to matching files, such as a tool to run or a folder to move them to, and save the rule.

From then on, new files from that source are handled as they arrive. Rules, conditions and actions are explained in full in [Watch Folders](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/watch-folders-automation-mac).

### Using sources in search

Sources also work as words. In Ask (⌘K), “from Slack”, “from WhatsApp” or “from Gmail this week” finds those downloads; see [Ask in plain English](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/ask-mac-natural-language-commands). In [Files](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/search-all-cloud-files-mac), the words gmail, whatsapp, slack, chatgpt, github, canva and telegram filter to files in a Downloads folder that came from there.

## Downloaded From compared with Finder

Finder can show one file’s “Where from” in **Get Info**, but only one file at a time, and there’s no view that groups every download by service. A WhatsApp file and an AirDrop file look the same in Finder, because neither has a web address.

Downloaded From adds the grouping, recognises services by their file servers as well as their main sites (so an image from twimg.com counts as X), recognises AirDrop and messaging apps by the app that saved the file, and puts a next step and an automation one click away. Everything is read on your Mac; see [Privacy](https://www.onemactools.com/privacy).

## Questions

**How do I find where a file was downloaded from on a Mac?**
In Finder, select the file, choose File › Get Info and look at Where from. To see every download grouped by source at once, open Downloaded From in OneMacTools, which reads the same information and sorts files into Gmail, WhatsApp, ChatGPT, AirDrop and other sources.

**Why does a file show up under Any website instead of the service?**
Its address didn’t match a service OneMacTools knows, so it’s grouped by the website it came from. Open Any website and use the Site menu to see it under that site’s name.

**How does it recognise AirDrop files?**
AirDrop saves no web address, but macOS records the app that received the file in the quarantine flag. OneMacTools recognises that name and puts the file under AirDrop. The same works for apps such as WhatsApp, Slack and Telegram.

**Why are some of my downloads missing?**
A file only appears if macOS kept its download details. Files you made yourself, files whose details were removed and files inside your Library folder aren’t listed. Click Refresh after new downloads, since the list is read when the screen first opens.

**Does Downloaded From move or rename my files?**
No. It only reads and groups them. Files stay where they are unless you act on them yourself, for example with a Watch Folder rule, a tool or Show in Finder.

**What does the Extensions source mean?**
Files saved by a browser extension, such as a screenshot or video-saver add-on, carry the extension’s own address instead of a website’s. OneMacTools groups them under Extensions so you can see what your add-ons have been saving, separately from files you downloaded yourself.

**Does it only look in my Downloads folder?**
No. Any file in your home folder that macOS marked with a download address is included, wherever you moved it afterwards, as long as Spotlight can see it. Downloads and the folders inside it are also checked for AirDrop files and app saves that have no address. Your Library folder is skipped.

**Is the list of sources sent to OneMacTools or anyone else?**
No. The addresses and app names are read from your files on your Mac and grouped there. Nothing about your downloads leaves your Mac.

Source: https://www.onemactools.com/docs/downloaded-from-sort-downloads-by-source (updated 2026-10-24)