Hazel for Mac

A flexible and feature-rich file management application, Hazel for Mac makes it easy for you to organize files and folders, offering through its intuitive interface an extensive range of functions that are about more than just categorizing newly-saved files.

Pros

Automates file management: Hazel for Mac offers a rich set of functions that make file management a breeze. It can sort downloads, automatically move files to specific folders or export them to iPhoto and iTunes based on predefined rules, resize images to manageable sizes, run scripts (including AppleScript), and manage your trash by partially emptying it once it reaches a certain size. All of these functions can be easily accessed and configured through the software's System Preference pane-like interface.

Works in the background: Since it silently runs in the background, once you're done setting rules for your folders, you can just forget about it unless you start encountering memory or Mac performance problems (Hazel can be one of the usual suspects). That said, if you want the app to inform you about important things it is doing, you can create custom notification messages.

Outstanding AppSweep: The built-in AppCleaner-like feature called AppSweep helps you fully get rid of the traces of an application you want to delete, including useless preference and cache files. Interestingly, it enables you to restore these related items if you decide to undelete an application.

Cons

RAM-demanding: Set a lot of rules on numerous folders, and you'll end up using too much RAM. While doing some intensive, automated file management, this software can make some applications freeze or crash.

Lack of import/export feature: Setting up your own rules can be quite tedious. It will be great if future releases include an import/export system for rules or configurations, so you can just copy somebody else's rules instead of doing everything, yourself.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hazel proves to be a useful application -- the hype it has been getting over the years is justified. To use it without degrading your system performance, however, you need to avoid setting too many rules, especially if your Mac does not have much RAM.