Managing File Retention & Purging how do you handle it?

Cool Workflows
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How do people typically manage file retention and purging of old files?

My workflow currently consists of saving a file with the format yyyy-mm-dd - tag - subtag or description.extension.

The file sits in a ‘24 hour’ folder (which makes it easier to find when I want to email it, or work on it after a short break).

After 24 hours Hazel moves it to the ‘AutoFile’ folder from where it gets filed using the - tag - and, if appropriate, sub filed by date or a subtag (if it exists) - there are different rules for different filename tags.

All of this is great for the creation, distribution and filing, side of things but there is zero differentiation between stuff I need to keep for a few weeks and stuff that needs to be retained for a few years or in perpetuity.

It is not worth differentiating between a few days and 6 months (disk space is cheap) so I would probably have 6 months as a default for ‘review’ if no other time is set.

I am toying with the idea of adding a code to the filename that Hazel could then recognise, replace with a ‘proper’ MacOS tag and strip from the name. Something along the lines of R1Y (Retain 1 Year), R6M (Retain 6 Months), RPY (Retain forever) etc.

Hazel would translate a file saved today (November 25) with R1Y into the tag ‘DEC26’, R6M into ‘JUN26’ etc.

Come December 26 a Smart Folder could collect for review all the files that have a tag of ‘DEC26’, the vast majority would be sent to the bin, if, on reflection, the file needs to be kept the tag is changed manually to the new review date.

Before I go to the effort of setting this up (and seeing if I can get Hazel to work out the tag needed for R6M, RxY (where x is a number) without needing to update the rules each month) - is there a better way?

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My answer might be quite boring because my retention and purging policy is a manual procedure with no automation at all (although I have Hazel installed):

  1. As long as I have to work with files, they very often sit in my desktop folder. Yes, I know, not very fancy. I try to keep my desktop folder clean, basically using it like an inbox that has to be emptied in the long run. If I cannot deal with files sitting in the desktop folder within days, I will file them into a folder structure that I have set up almost two decades ago (personal, work and some hobby folders with a lot of sub folders) and I might set a reminder to deal with stuff later.
  2. When I am done working with files, I decide whether I have to or want to keep them. If no, I will delete them right on the spot. If I want to keep them, I will file them in my folder-based system.

And that’s it. I do not purge anything because as you have said: disk space is cheap. And I have to say that it has happened more than once that I was quite happy to be able to go back to files that have been created almost 30 years ago.

So, how does it even work, to find stuff?

Well, first of all, my file names start with the date yyyy-mm-dd, too, followed by a meaningful description. Then they sit in the mentioned folder structure. And last but not least: Find Any File always has been able to find whatever I needed to look for.

Your approach does sound very interesting, if you want to automate a purge routine. It will be no real help, but if I chose to purge stuff automatically, I would consider implementing a similar routine. It really sounds thought through. I myself am not comfortable to have an app doing the purging. It is something I prefer doing myself. :slight_smile:

Again, your approach sounds very interesting and I am looking forward to others chiming in.

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My workflows are more project-based. I have main folders to contain these active projects. When I am done with the project, it goes into an archive folder on my NAS.

If you are dealing with lots of temporary files like iteratively generated PDFs, maybe delete them (manually) as you go (clean up at the end of the week, and definitely before you archive). You could also choose to store those temporary files somewhere like a Temp folder or your Downloads folder, then have Hazel automatically purge files older than a month.

I use Hazel to help rename and tag files, but not to move them, as I don’t want to lose track of things. I do have it purge my Downloads folder of old files based on date.

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I generally place all new and temp files in Downloads, and place all files that I am currently working with on the Desktop. I regularly cleanup Downloads, deleting most of what’s there, and storing most of the rest for long-term use in DEVONthink (90%) or into relevant folders in my Documents hierarchy. If I’m working with files on the Desktop (in folders for the relevant app I’m using), then when I’m finished I’ll decide if the file is a keeper or not.

Of course, a lot of apps are designed to have their own folders, especially apps that I use on mobile and desktop platforms. I try to regularly cull those app-specific folders, but that’s more of a challenge.

This is all not scientific in the least. I just try to leave files where I’m likely to stumble on them later and realize I need to get rid of them.

Katie

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For work files, unless they include personal data, there is no retention period.

For personal data they are added to the relevant system and then fall inside the system’s retention

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I have a rudimentary system that.

  • Moves files from the desktop, into Downloads, after 2 days
  • Moves specific file types from Downloads to type-specific folders after a week (images and PDFs, I used to have one for DMGs and ZIPs)

This is all Hazel. I wonder if it can do your bidding simply by adding a tag for the retention period and having a rule for each one.

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I retain almost everything and just buy a bigger Mac every 5 years. I currently have a 4TB SSD. Dabbling in software development again is eating up space. In addition I do some video work.

After Black Friday, I will likely own 2-4TB external SSD for older video assets.

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When reading this, I wonder doesn’t it take more time to organise and to maintain the whole system instead of being productive and working?
Please do not miss understand me, I just wonder why do you need such a “complex” system?
I also “produce” files (design, drafts, texts, …) and I organise these in projects folders. These files have similar titles, easy to connect with their content. And it if necessary to add the time, I place “2025 11 26” (“yyy mm dd”) at the begin of the file title. I just type “fdt” and Typinator changes it into the actual year, month and day.

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I bought a 4TB SSD with my current (M4 Pro) MacBook Pro. The reason being to carry ALL of my photos with me when travelling. Yes, a Samsung T7 was plenty fast and large enough, but it’s just enough friction that I hate it.

So, woohoo, I splashed out. Treated myself to a 4TB laptop. Since when I have been learning the major downsides!

  1. Selling it is very difficult. Few people want to pay a premium for 4TB and those who do don’t want to pay as much as you think they should. (I had an M3 Pro for about 6 months, but it was 16” and just too big for travel. It took me months to sell and I took a bath on the price.)
  2. Getting a quiet, reliable backup device is a nightmare. I set up Time Machine to my Synology. It’s… workable. My Mac filesystem locks up at the start of backups, not all command line Time Machine tricks work with it, and it’s not exactly fast, nor quiet. Desktop drives that are large enough (>4TB) are noisy. SSDs that are large enough are both rare and hideously expensive.

So yes, I regularly look for what’s taking up space and banish it either to the NAS or in some cases a dedicated drive. I’ve solved the backup problem for now with a workaround — I’ve excluded my photos from Time Machine because I already archive them to the NAS and they get included in Backblaze. With those out of the picture, my system is really only about 1TB, so I have a fairly quiet 2.5” WD MyPassport 4TB drive that serves for Time Machine. Oh, and there seems to be no such thing as a quiet, 2.5” HDD >5TB.

PS. Before I moved up to a 4TB laptop, I had a 1TB laptop. Now, when I see I have only a little over 1TB free, I start frantically searching for the space hog! :rofl:

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