What's New in File Arbor 1.1.0: Rule Actions, Auto-Delete, and Custom Commands

File Arbor 1.1.0 is the biggest update since launch: rules can now do more than move files. Every rule gets an action — move to a folder, move to the Recycle Bin, delete permanently, or run a command of your choice.

Here's what shipped and how to use it.

Rules now have actions

Every File Arbor rule used to do one thing: move matching files to a folder. Version 1.1.0 rebuilds rules around an IF/THEN model. The IF side — extensions, name patterns, regex, size, age — is unchanged. The THEN side is new. You pick one of four actions:

• Move to folder — exactly what rules always did
• Move to Recycle Bin — new, available on the free plan
• Delete permanently — new, Pro
• Run command — new, Pro

Your existing rules migrate automatically and keep working as move rules. Nothing to reconfigure.

Move to Recycle Bin (free)

The safest way to clean up. Files matching the rule go to the Recycle Bin (Trash on macOS), so you can recover anything by hand if a rule catches more than you expected. See our walkthrough on how to auto-move files to the Recycle Bin.

A practical example: screenshots pile up fast and are rarely worth keeping.

• Watch: Desktop
• Match: name starts with Screenshot, older than 30 days
• Action: Move to Recycle Bin

This action is part of the free plan, and the free plan's 20-files-per-day limit applies to it like any other action.

Delete permanently (Pro)

This one came directly from a user request. He manages security-camera footage: hundreds of gigabytes of video lands on disk every day, and the only maintenance the folder needs is "remove everything older than 60 days." Sending terabytes through the Recycle Bin would be pointless — the disk space never frees up.

• Watch: D:\Camera with subfolder scanning enabled
• Match: older than 60 days
• Action: Delete permanently
• Mode: scheduled, daily at 03:00

Set it once and the archive maintains itself. For a full walkthrough of this pattern, see how to automatically delete old files by age.

Because permanent means permanent, the app makes you confirm a checkbox before a delete rule can be saved, refuses to touch anything outside the watched folder, and never follows a symlink out of it. Deleted files do not appear in the undo history — there is nothing to undo.

Run command (Pro)

The most requested feature from power users, and the one Hazel users have asked us about since day one. When a file matches a rule, File Arbor runs a command of your choice — once per file. Our guide on how to run a shell script when a file is added walks through more examples.

Three variables are available: {filePath}, {fileName}, and {folder}. File Arbor quotes them for you, so paths with spaces work without escaping anything.

A real example from the user who requested it — auto-committing files that land in a repository folder:

• Watch: C:\Projects\notes
• Match: extension is .md
• Action: Run command
• Command: git -C {folder} add {fileName} && git -C {folder} commit -m "Add {fileName}"

You don't have to save a rule to find out whether your command works. The rule editor has a Test button that runs the command once against a sample file and shows the exit code, the output, and how long it took. Every real run is also recorded in a new Command runs panel — when something fails at 3 AM, the full output is waiting for you. It joins the broader Action History / audit log that tracks every change File Arbor makes.

Commands time out after 30 seconds by default, so a hung script can't stall your rules. One note: the Run command action is not available in the Microsoft Store build, due to Store policy. The direct download has it.

Pricing stays the same

Nothing changes about pricing: the free plan still covers one folder, two rules, and now the Recycle Bin action. Pro is still a $24.99 one-time purchase — and now includes permanent delete and custom commands, with lifetime updates.

How to get 1.1.0

The app updates itself on Windows and macOS, or grab the installer from the download page. New here? The getting started guide covers your first rule in about five minutes. Every Pro license comes with a 30-day refund guarantee.

FAQ

Do my existing rules still work after updating?

Yes. Existing rules are migrated automatically to the new action model as move rules — same conditions, same destinations, same behavior. The update changes what rules can do, not what your rules currently do.

Can files deleted by a rule be recovered?

Files removed with Move to Recycle Bin can be restored from the Recycle Bin manually. Files removed with Delete permanently cannot be recovered — which is why that action is Pro-only, requires an explicit confirmation when you create the rule, and only ever operates inside the watched folder.

What happens to Pro rules if I don't have a license?

They stop running, safely. Delete and Run command rules pause and show a lock icon in the rule list; nothing is silently downgraded to a different action. Activate a license and they resume exactly as configured.