---
title: "Autopilot watched-folder cleanup · MacMelon"
description: "Choose a folder for Disk Housekeeper Autopilot. Cleanup still previews, and removals still go to the Trash by default."
url: "https://macmelon.com/use-cases/autopilot-watched-folder-cleanup"
---

# Set up Autopilot for a watched folder

Autopilot watches a folder you pick. It does not skip the preview, and it does not empty the Trash for you.

[Autopilot](https://macmelon.com/glossary/autopilot) is watched-folder cleanup in [Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper). You choose the folder. The app can keep an eye on it so you do not have to remember to open a cleaner every time the folder fills up.

It is not a nightly wipe of the disk. The note [Autopilot is a watched folder, not a timer](https://macmelon.com/blog/autopilot-is-a-watched-folder) is the longer version of that distinction.

## Steps

1.  ### Choose a folder you would have cleaned by hand

    Downloads, or a build-output directory you can recreate, are coherent choices. A folder of photos or contracts is not, unless you have another copy and you like reading previews carefully.

2.  ### Know the rule that will match

    If you are also using Auto-Sort, keep the two ideas separate. Autopilot cleans. Auto-Sort files. Both should show you a preview of what they are about to do.

3.  ### Read the first previews yourself

    Always means always: Disk Housekeeper previews before cleaning, including cleanup Autopilot proposes. The first few previews teach you whether the folder was a good choice.

4.  ### Leave removals in the Trash

    Default is the Trash. Live with that for a while. Empty it when the folder still contains what you meant to keep and the removed items are genuinely done.

## Before you start

-   A low-space alert does not silently start Autopilot. The alert is a signal. The watched folder is a scope you set.
-   Watching a folder does not back it up. If the only copy of a file lives there, do not aim a clean at it.

## Questions

Does Autopilot delete on a schedule without asking?

No. It watches a folder, and Disk Housekeeper always previews before cleaning. Removals go to the Trash by default.

Can I watch the whole disk?

The feature is a watched folder, which is a scope you choose. Pick a folder you understand. Do not point it at your home directory to see what happens.

## Apps

[Make room for what matters. Clear clutter with confidence. ### Disk Housekeeper](https://macmelon.com/apps/disk-housekeeper)

## Related guides

[### How to free up disk space on a Mac](https://macmelon.com/guides/how-to-free-up-disk-space-on-a-mac)

## Related use cases

[### Sort Downloads with plain-English rules](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/sort-downloads-with-plain-english-rules)[### Free up space on a MacBook](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/free-up-space-on-a-macbook)[### Read a savings history](https://macmelon.com/use-cases/read-a-savings-history)

## Related terms

[Watched-folder cleanup in Disk Housekeeper, still behind a preview. In Sentinely, the memory fixes you have approved. ### Autopilot](https://macmelon.com/glossary/autopilot)[A folder you explicitly ask Autopilot to keep an eye on. ### Watched folder](https://macmelon.com/glossary/watched-folder)[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)[A notice that free space on the Mac is low, separate from actually cleaning. ### Low-space alert](https://macmelon.com/glossary/low-space-alert)

## Related notes

[Disk Housekeeper Autopilot cleans a folder you choose to watch. It still previews, and it still uses the Trash by default. ### Autopilot is a watched folder, not a timer](https://macmelon.com/blog/autopilot-is-a-watched-folder)