# Tidy a Folder — Organise your Downloads folder on Mac

Sort a messy folder like Downloads into Images, Documents, Videos… or by month. Part of OneMacTools, 151 private tools in one native Mac app (macOS 26 or later); category: Files. Runs on your Mac; nothing is uploaded.

Sort loose files into folders by type (Images, Videos, Audio, PDFs, Documents, Archives, Apps & Installers, Code), by month or by extension. Make a tidy copy, or tidy the folder itself.

Page: https://www.onemactools.com/tools/tidy-folder · Download: https://www.onemactools.com/download · Pricing: https://www.onemactools.com/pricing

## How to use it
1. **Drop a folder.** Drag in the messy folder, such as Downloads or your Desktop. You can add several folders at once.
2. **Choose how to sort.** Sort by File type (Images, Videos, PDFs…), by Month, or by Extension.
3. **Copy or tidy in place.** By default you get a tidy copy. Turn on Tidy the folder itself to move the files into sub-folders inside the original folder.
4. **Click Tidy.** Every loose file is sorted into its new folder. Sub-folders that were already there are left alone.
5. **See the result.** A tidy copy is saved as “Folder name (tidied)” in a new dated folder in Downloads › OneMacTools; open it with Show in Finder. If you tidied in place, open the original folder.

## Options
- **Sort by:** File type, Month or Extension. File type makes folders such as Images, Videos, Audio, PDFs, Documents, Archives, Apps & Installers, Code, Fonts and Other. Month groups files by when they were last changed, in year folders such as 2026 › 10 October. Extension makes one folder per extension, such as PDF, JPG and ZIP.
- **Tidy the folder itself (moves files):** Off by default, so you get a sorted copy and the original folder isn't touched. Turn it on to move the files into sub-folders inside the original folder. Nothing is deleted or moved to the Trash, but there's no one-click undo.

## Tips
- Try it with the option off first. Look through the tidy copy, and when you're happy, run it again with Tidy the folder itself on.
- File type suits Downloads and the Desktop. Month suits folders of scans, invoices or screenshots you look up by date.
- Only loose files are sorted. Existing sub-folders and hidden files stay exactly where they are.
- A tidy copy duplicates every file. For a big Downloads folder, tidying in place saves the disk space.
- Run Duplicate Finder on the folder first so you're not sorting several copies of the same file.

## Questions
**How do I organise my Downloads folder on a Mac?**
Drop the Downloads folder onto Tidy a Folder, choose File type and click Tidy. Loose files are sorted into Images, Documents, Videos, PDFs and more.

**Does Tidy a Folder delete anything?**
No. By default it makes a sorted copy and leaves the folder alone. With Tidy the folder itself on, files are moved into sub-folders of the same folder; nothing goes to the Trash.

**How do I undo tidying a folder?**
There's no automatic undo when you tidy in place, but nothing is deleted, so you can drag files back out of the new sub-folders. Making a tidy copy first avoids the problem.

**Can I sort files into folders by date?**
Yes. Choose Month and files go into year and month folders, such as 2026 › 10 October, based on when they were last changed.

**What happens to folders that are already inside?**
They're left exactly where they are. Only loose files are sorted.

**Which folder do Word and Excel files go in?**
Documents, along with Pages, Numbers, Keynote, PowerPoint, text and other office files. PDFs get their own PDFs folder.