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Need Help: Hazel rules not triggering as expected

PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2025 3:34 am
by laurawoods
Hello everyone,

I’m new to Hazel, and I’ve been experimenting with a few rules to automatically organize files on my Mac. However, I’ve run into an issue where some of my rules don’t seem to trigger at all, even though they look correct to me.

Here’s what I tried:

I created a rule to move PDFs from my Downloads folder to a specific subfolder.

The conditions check for “Kind is PDF” and “Date Added is today.”

The action is “Move to folder XYZ.”

When I manually run the rule, it works. But when I just download a file normally, Hazel doesn’t move it automatically.

Am I missing something in how Hazel monitors the folder, or do I need to adjust my conditions/actions? Any guidance or examples from experienced users would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Laurawoods

Re: Need Help: Hazel rules not triggering as expected

PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2025 9:13 am
by Mr_Noodle
Please go through the troubleshooting guide here: https://www.noodlesoft.com/kb/hazel-tro ... ing-guide/

Report back with the results either by posting here or emailing them in.

Re: Need Help: Hazel rules not triggering as expected

PostPosted: Tue Nov 11, 2025 3:48 pm
by Macmikeal
laurawoods wrote:Hello everyone,

I’m new to Hazel, and I’ve been experimenting with a few rules to automatically organize files on my Mac. However, I’ve run into an issue where some of my rules don’t seem to trigger at all, even though they look correct to me.

Here’s what I tried:

I created a rule to move PDFs from my Downloads folder to a specific subfolder.

The conditions check for “Kind is PDF” and “Date Added is today.”

The action is “Move to folder XYZ.”

How can I set up a rule like this? I saw a YouTube where the very latest Mac OS will do it with Apples Automation and Shortcuts. This mac mini will not run the very latest so leave me in the cold. I thought I should be able to do this with Hazel or Keyboard Maestro. I thought this would be more in Hazel's wheel house.

When I manually run the rule, it works. But when I just download a file normally, Hazel doesn’t move it automatically.

Am I missing something in how Hazel monitors the folder, or do I need to adjust my conditions/actions? Any guidance or examples from experienced users would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Laurawoods