---
title: "Autopilot · MacMelon"
description: "Autopilot is the MacMelon name for automation you approve once: it repeats an action you already chose, inside limits you set, and reports each run."
url: "https://macmelon.com/glossary/autopilot"
---

# Autopilot

Watched-folder cleanup in Disk Housekeeper, still behind a preview. In Sentinely, the memory fixes you have approved.

Autopilot watches a folder you choose and can clean it when the rules match. The name suggests a schedule that runs unattended. The behavior we describe is narrower: a scope you set, a preview you see, and removals that go to the Trash by default.

A [low-space alert](https://macmelon.com/glossary/low-space-alert) does not silently trigger it. If you want the setup steps, use [Set up Autopilot for a watched folder](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/autopilot-watched-folder-cleanup). If you want the distinction from Auto-Sort, read both glossary entries before you turn either on.

[Sentinely](https://macmelon.com/apps/sentinely) uses the same name for a different job. With Pro, Autopilot runs the kinds of memory fixes you approve, such as unloading idle Ollama models or stopping [MCP servers](https://macmelon.com/glossary/mcp-server) left behind by closed apps, and only after memory pressure has stayed high, never on a brief spike. It only stops helpers you have already stopped once by hand, never quits apps, keeps daily limits and cool-downs, and tells you after every action.

## Apps

[Make room for what matters. Clear clutter with confidence. ### Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper)[No more Force Quit in the middle of a build. ### Sentinely](https://macmelon.com/apps/sentinely)

## Related guides

[### How to free up disk space on a Mac](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-free-up-disk-space-on-a-mac)[### How to find what's slowing down your Mac](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-find-what-is-slowing-down-your-mac)

## Related use cases

[### Set up Autopilot for a watched folder](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/autopilot-watched-folder-cleanup)[### Stop AI-tool helpers left running after you close your editor](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/stop-leftover-ai-helpers-and-mcp-servers)

## Related terms

[A folder you explicitly ask Autopilot to keep an eye on. ### Watched folder](https://macmelon.com/glossary/watched-folder)[Disk Housekeeper's sorter, driven by rules you write in plain English. ### Auto-Sort](https://macmelon.com/glossary/auto-sort)[A required look at the files a clean will touch, before anything is removed. ### Preview before cleaning](https://macmelon.com/glossary/preview-before-cleaning)[The holding area macOS uses for files you have deleted but not yet erased. ### Trash](https://macmelon.com/glossary/trash)