Noodlesoft Forums

Hi-

I have a new Mac, and am doing a clean install.

I am looking for the best way to set up Hazel on the new Mac. Here are the two options I can find:

1. From a thread on this forum in 2014:

If you are on Mavericks or later, you have to use a special procedure as Apple has complicated things:

- Quit System Preferences.
- Launch Activity Monitor and find HazelHelper. Quit the process.
- Find cfprefsd. Kill any that you can (some may be for other accounts and you can't kill them).
- Restore the following:
- In your Library/Application Support folder, the Hazel folder
- In your Library/Preferences folder, the files starting with com.noodlesoft.
- Reboot.

https://www.noodlesoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3945&p=13640&hilit=move+to+new+mac#p13640

2. OR-just install Hazel on the new Mac, export the rules from the old Mac, then reimport the rules.

I actually tried this first, and found that my folders in Hazel were not recreated. I am happy to recreate them myself, but wanted to get input from the experts here.

Thanks!

The rules, when exported, are not tied to any folder, so yes, you will have to re-create the folder list yourself in that case.

The first method does transfer over the folder list (and all your other non-rule settings) as that migrates your preferences over as well.

I followed the steps to transfer old prefs to the new Library.

I ended up with ghost folders containing the rules, that refer to the old computer.

So I just created new folders referring to the same locations on the new Mac, then moved the rules to these new folders.

However, I have a ghost folder, 'Hazel Processing,' that is located in the Downloads folder on the old computer, but not on the new one. The rules in that folder duplicate some but not all of the rules in my Hazel Downloads folder.

Is this folder necessary, or can I delete it? Should I create a new 'Hazel Processing' folder in the Downloads folder on my new Mac, and then move the files?

Thanks!

It's up to you whether it's necessary. Hazel itself doesn't require any folders so if you need that folder on the new machine, you should create it.