Files moving too soon

[horo]

Hazel v6.0.4, running on an Apple Silicon Mac mini, macOS v15.5

I'm a longtime Hazel user, and am suddenly having an issue with a rule I haven't changed in years.

I have a rule for my "Downloads" folder that moves Newly Added files to a folder with the format of the current date (eg 2025-06-22). This has worked flawlessly, but in the last couple of weeks, Hazel tries to move the file while it is still downloading. When the file completes, it moves it again. This results with 2 files in the date-named folder: a zero byte file with the correct name (e.g., blah.dmg) and the actual full file named, e.g., blah-1.dmg.

As I said, I've changed nothing I'm aware of.

Any thoughts? Additional information needed?

EDITED TO ADD: It appears this may be the result of switching to Firefox a few weeks back. I think I have a workaround. It appears that when Firefox starts a download, it creates a zero byte file with the name of the file being downloaded. That file remains at zero bytes, but a file with the same name and a ".part" extension actually grows in size as the file downloads. When the download is done, the zero byte file is deleted and the .part file is renamed to the actual filename.

I added "extension is not part" and "size is greater than 0 bytes" to my trigger conditions, and now nothing happens until the full file is in the download folder with the correct name and size.

Is this just "a Firefox thing"?

[Mr_Noodle]

What program is downloading the files?

[horo]

What program is downloading the files?

Sorry, it's Firefox. I updated the original post with that and a workaround I've found (in part by reviewing Hazel logs).

[Mr_Noodle]

Hazel should usually take Firefox partial downloads into account. Were you downloading to the fixed folder in Firefox's settings or were you downloading to an ad hoc folder?

[horo]

It is the folder in Firefox's preferences (the Downloads folder in my home folder, which has never changed). Below is the logfile of a 1GB download of a zip file from https://testfile.org/ using my original rule:

Code: Select all

2025-06-24 09:08:50.382 hazelworker[2949] Running worker (v6.0.4) for folder with identifier: 16777220-2985735.
2025-06-24 09:08:50.383 hazelworker[2949] ###Arch: arm64
2025-06-24 09:08:50.383 hazelworker[2949] ###main load address: 0x100514000
2025-06-24 09:08:50.383 hazelworker[2949] ###Hazel Core load address: 0x1007dc000
2025-06-24 09:08:50.383 hazelworker[2949] ###Noodle load address: 0x100614000
2025-06-24 09:08:50.383 hazelworker[2949] ###CK load address: 0x1005cc000
2025-06-24 09:08:50.466 hazelworker[2949] Processing folder Downloads
2025-06-24 09:08:52.530 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:08:52.589 hazelworker[2949] 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0.zip: Rule Legacy Downloads matched.
2025-06-24 09:08:52.590 hazelworker[2949] [File Event] File moved into subfolder: /Users/horo/Downloads/2025-06-24/3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0.zip sorted from folder /Users/horo/Downloads to subfolder 2025-06-24.
2025-06-24 09:08:54.981 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:08:57.418 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:01.523 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:05.572 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:13.598 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:21.705 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:29.754 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:37.821 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:45.866 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:09:53.926 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:01.969 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:10.013 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:18.049 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:26.138 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.gYvrRuyU.0.0.zip.part is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:34.165 hazelworker[2949] File 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0.zip is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:42.269 hazelworker[2949] 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0.zip: Rule Legacy Downloads matched.
2025-06-24 09:10:42.278 hazelworker[2949] [File Event] File moved into subfolder: /Users/horo/Downloads/2025-06-24/3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0-1.zip sorted from folder /Users/horo/Downloads to subfolder 2025-06-24.
2025-06-24 09:10:50.356 hazelworker[2949] File .DS_Store is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:10:58.469 hazelworker[2949] File .DS_Store is busy. Skipping for now.
2025-06-24 09:11:06.574 hazelworker[2949] Done processing folder Downloads
2025-06-24 09:12:47.365 hazelworker[4014] Running worker (v6.0.4) for folder with identifier: 16777220-2985735.
2025-06-24 09:12:47.366 hazelworker[4014] ###Arch: arm64
2025-06-24 09:12:47.366 hazelworker[4014] ###main load address: 0x104954000
2025-06-24 09:12:47.366 hazelworker[4014] ###Hazel Core load address: 0x104c08000
2025-06-24 09:12:47.366 hazelworker[4014] ###Noodle load address: 0x104a54000
2025-06-24 09:12:47.366 hazelworker[4014] ###CK load address: 0x104a0c000
2025-06-24 09:12:47.390 hazelworker[4014] Processing folder Downloads
2025-06-24 09:12:49.426 hazelworker[4014] Done processing folder Downloads

This resulted in two files in the sorted folder, 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0.zip (Zero bytes at 9:08 am) and 3dicons-png-dynamic-1.0.0-1.zip (1.36 GB at 9:10 am).

The rule is:
All of the following conditions:
Date Added is Today
Kind is not Folder
Action:
Sort into subfolder with pattern: date added

Please let me know if you need any further information.

[Mr_Noodle]

What version of Firefox are you running?

[horo]

Currently 140.0 (aarch64) - It updated yesterday.

[Mr_Noodle]

Not sure what's going on there but I suggest as a workaround, you can add a rule like:

Code: Select all

   if (all) are met
       If (all) are met for (any file or folder in the same folder)
           Extension is part
           Name matches (name)
    Ignore file


This should ignore any file if it has a corresponding .part file.