Auto Rules

Storage Studio builds its cleanup rules to fit your Mac. Rather than a fixed list, it looks at the apps and caches you actually have and keeps the safe, regenerable ones tidy automatically — so a newly-installed app is covered without you editing anything. Open it from the Auto rules tile on the Home screen.

Move rules keep what you still use. A "Move by age" rule uses the age you set, but it also asks macOS's own index which files you've opened recently — and keeps those where they are, even if they're old. So a reference you still open, or a movie you rewatch, isn't relocated just because you haven't edited it. Moved files leave a shortcut, so anything that does move still opens in place while your drive is connected.

What you'll see

• Applied automatically — the safest, fully regenerable caches (the ones

your apps rebuild on their own). These run on the normal schedule, no action needed.

• Suggested — needs your approval — anything less obvious is proposed,

never applied on its own. Each suggestion shows what it is, why it's safe, whether it's a Move or a Delete, and roughly how much it would free. Approve the ones you want; Dismiss the rest.

• Dismissed — reclaim anytime — dismissed items aren't lost; Restore any

of them back into your suggestions whenever you change your mind.

A note in the notification bell tells you when there are suggestions to review. The Rule Optimizer tile on the Home screen shows when your Mac was last reviewed — click it to re-scan now. Storage Studio also keeps optimising quietly in the background, only while your Mac is idle (pause or resume it anytime).

Always under your control

• Turn on "Suggest only — never apply automatically" to approve everything

yourself.

• Your own hand-written rules are kept separate and are never changed by

the automatic ones. Manage them in Settings → Rules (there's an Open Rule Editor link in the window).

• Nothing personal is deleted. Only regenerable caches are applied

automatically; personal files are only ever archived (moved), and only after you approve. Everything runs through the same safety limits as the rest of Storage Studio — nothing you've changed recently is ever touched automatically, the "never delete personal files" setting is always respected, and every move is reversible.