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Auto-Pilot Folder Watchers: A Hazel-Style Workflow for Windows

Automate Downloads cleanup with rule-based folder watchers: move, rename, or trash on file events with delays, windows, and undo.

  • autopilot
  • automation
  • windows

Mac users have Hazel. Windows users have File Juggler, DropIt, Belvedere, and a pile of unmaintained AutoHotkey scripts. DupeZappa Auto-Pilot adds folder watchers to the same app as duplicate scanning and preview-first deletes, so automated moves and deletes land in the same operation journal as manual cleanup.

What Auto-Pilot watches

  • Folders you choose: commonly Downloads, scan inbox dirs, or export drops.
  • Files only: directories are not processed as match targets.
  • Polling runtime with immediate first run on start.
  • Live events: recent activity feed shows what matched and what ran.

Watchers are opt-in per folder. Enable/disable without deleting rule definitions.

Rule matching

Match type Example use
extension .zip archives to Downloads\Archives
name_contains screenshot in filename → move to Pictures\Screenshots

Combine rules per watcher. Test with a small folder before pointing at a busy Downloads tree.

Actions and conflict handling

Move to folder with conflict strategy:

  • skip: leave the file in place if destination exists.
  • overwrite: use only when you mean it.
  • rename_increment: file (1).ext style safety.

Delete with delete mode:

  • trash: default; Recycle Bin recovery window.
  • permanent: explicit confirmation in UI.

All actions reuse the operation journal, with the same visibility as manual cleanup.

Timing and stability

Downloads and browser saves are not atomic. A file may sit half-written for seconds.

Auto-Pilot supports:

  • Stable-match delays: wait until size and mod time stop changing.
  • Run windows: local-time ranges (e.g. only overnight).
  • Restart recovery: pending delayed actions persist across app restarts.

Delayed actions reset their timer when a pending file's size or modification time changes, which avoids processing incomplete downloads.

Safety habits

  1. Start with move, not delete: prove routing before trashing.
  2. One watcher per messy folder: easier to debug than mega-rules.
  3. Match preview-first philosophy: automation is fast, not infallible; check the activity feed weekly.
  4. Exclude network drops that fail when VPN is offline, using the same discipline as NAS duplicate scans.

vs File Juggler and DropIt

File Juggler DropIt DupeZappa Auto-Pilot
Price Paid Free Part of toolkit
Content-aware rules PDF text Basic Extension + name
Integration Standalone Standalone Duplicates, search, undo
Maintenance Active Stale UI Active development

File Juggler is still the better pick for PDF-text routing. Auto-Pilot suits people who already use DupeZappa for dedup and want folder automation without buying a second tool.

Example: tame Downloads

  1. Watcher on %USERPROFILE%\Downloads.
  2. Rule: extension = pdf → move to Documents\Inbox\PDF.
  3. Rule: name_contains = IMG_ → move to Pictures\Imports.
  4. Stable delay 5 seconds; trash rules disabled until moves look correct for two weeks.

Automation should cut repetitive moves, not hide data loss. When rules misfire, fall back to preview-first manual cleanup.

For the full Downloads workflow (browser triage, integrity pass, Auto-Pilot routing, repeat-offender cleanup), see Clean your Downloads folder.

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