Downloads is where everything lands: installers, attachments, AirDropped photos, things you meant to look at later. After a year, most of it is leftovers. Some of it is the only copy of something you’ll need.
The file type usually tells you which is which. Everything below goes to the Trash first, so you can still put a file back until you empty it.
Usually safe to trash
Disk images (.dmg). Most Mac apps come as a .dmg. Once you’ve dragged the app into Applications and ejected the disk image, the .dmg has done its job. More on .dmg files.
Installer packages (.pkg). Same idea: once the installer has finished, the package isn’t needed to run the app. More on .pkg files.
Calendar invites (.ics). Opening an .ics adds the event to Calendar. After that the event lives in Calendar, and the file can go. More on .ics files.
Zips you’ve already opened. If “fonts” sits next to “fonts.zip”, the zip is a spare copy. Check the folder has everything first. More on zip files.
Numbered copies. “report (1).pdf” usually means you downloaded the same file twice. If it matches the original, the copy can go. More on (1) files.
Leave these alone for now
Unfinished downloads (.crdownload, .download, .part). These are downloads Chrome, Safari or Firefox are still working on, or ones that stopped halfway. Trashing one while it’s downloading breaks the download. If it’s days old and the browser has given up, it’s fine to trash. See .crdownload, .download and .part.
Photos from your phone (.heic). AirDrop saves straight to Downloads. Those photos may not be anywhere else, so check they’re in Photos before you clear them. More on HEIC.
Keep, but move
The files most worth keeping are the ones that only exist in Downloads:
- invoices, receipts and bank statements,
- contracts and signed forms,
- documents and photos people sent you.
These shouldn’t go to the Trash. They should go somewhere you’ll find them again: a folder for invoices, one for statements, one for contracts. The guide to tidying Downloads shows how to sort the folder by date added and work through it in Finder.
Doing it without the sorting
Omaculate has a recipe for each of these, and every one shows you the list before anything moves:
- Trash old app installers: .dmg and .pkg files more than 30 days old.
- Trash zips already unzipped: only zips with their unzipped folder beside them.
- Trash duplicate downloads: only exact copies, never the original.
- Trash old calendar invites: .ics files more than 7 days old.
- Gather invoices and receipts and statements and payslips into a folder per year.
Oma skips files that are still downloading, whatever the recipe says. Anything headed for the Trash waits for your approval, in every mode.
