My rules don't move anything from Documents or Desktop

If your rules never move anything out of Documents, Desktop or Downloads, the usual reason is permission: macOS protects those folders, and Storage Studio needs Full Disk Access to look inside them. If permission is fine, the files are probably just not old enough for the rule yet, or you've opened them recently — rules deliberately leave those alone.

Likely causes

• Full Disk Access isn't granted, or macOS has stopped honouring it after an update. Without it, Storage Studio can't see inside the protected folders, so a rule finds nothing to move.
• The files aren't old enough. Each rule has an age; only items older than that are moved.
• The hard floor is higher. Hard floor — never act on anything younger than … days in Settings → Rules overrides every rule.
• You've opened the files recently. "Move rules use the age below, but keep any file you've opened recently — even if it's old — using macOS's own index, so a reference you still use isn't relocated."
• The automatic run hasn't happened yet, or it was held. Automatic moves run once a day and don't run while automatic actions are paused, during quiet hours, or while the drive is disconnected.

%% caption: Why a rule might not move anything from a protected folder
flowchart TD
  A[Rule moves nothing from Documents or Desktop] --> B{Is Full Disk Access granted?}
  B -->|No| C[Grant it in System Settings, then Re-check]
  B -->|Yes| D[Run a preview of the next run]
  D --> E{Does the preview list files to move?}
  E -->|No| F[Files are too new, recently opened, or under the floor]
  F --> G[Lower the rule's age in Settings, Rules]
  E -->|Yes| H{Paused, quiet hours or drive disconnected?}
  H -->|Yes| I[Resume, wait, or connect the drive]
  H -->|No| J[Use Run Moves Now from the More menu]

How to fix it

1. Check Full Disk Access. Open Settings…, then Permissions. The Full Disk Access row should say Granted. If it doesn't, click Open Settings, switch Storage Studio on in the list, come back and click Re-check. If it already looks on in System Settings, switch it off and on again — macOS can stop honouring it after an update. See Full Disk Access is on but the app says it isn't.
2. Preview the next run. Choose Automatic Moves… from the More menu and click Run preview. Lines starting "WOULD MOVE:" are what the next run would move; "WOULD KEEP (you've opened it recently):" are files it will leave alone. See A dry run shows files I don't want moved for the opposite problem.
3. Lower the rule's age in Settings → Rules if you want newer items to qualify. A row may show "Will run as …d (floor)" — that means the floor in Global overrides is higher than the rule, and the floor wins.
4. Run it now. Run Moves Now in the More menu runs your rules straight away, without waiting for the overnight run. Your external drive needs to be connected.
5. Check nothing is holding automatic work. If the Home screen says Automatic actions are paused, click Resume.

If Run Moves Now moves files but the overnight run never does, use Contact Support in the More menu and include your diagnostic logs — see Sharing diagnostic logs with support.

What stays safe

A rule that can't read a folder skips it rather than guessing — nothing is moved or deleted that it couldn't see. Everything a rule moves leaves a shortcut behind, so files still open from where they were.

See also: Rules: moving folders automatically · Why Storage Studio asks for Full Disk Access · Quiet Hours · The shortcut left behind after a move · Something's not working: start here