# Watched folders

> Set up folders that auto-convert or compress files the moment they appear. Picmal processes them in the background, hands-off.

Source: https://picmal.app/docs/watched-folders

Watched folders process files as soon as they show up. Drop something in, and Picmal converts or compresses it. You don't have to open the app. Watched folders need a license; the 7-day trial does not cover them.

## Setup

1. Open **Settings** → **Watched Folders**
2. Click **Add Folder** and select a folder
3. Configure the folder's processing settings. Click a folder in the list any time to open them again
4. New files added to that folder are processed automatically

## Per-folder configuration

Each watched folder has its own settings:

### Actions

Pick what the folder does with the files that arrive:

| Action        | What happens                                                              |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Compress      | Each file is compressed in its original format.                            |
| Convert       | Each file is converted to a format you pick.                               |
| Images to PDF | The images that arrive together become one multi-page PDF.                 |
| Combine PDFs  | The PDFs that arrive together are merged into one.                         |

Compress and Convert are per-file: one file in, one file out. **Images to PDF** and **Combine PDFs** are batch actions. They wait for the folder to go quiet, then collapse everything that landed into a single document.

#### Images to PDF

Drop any number of images into the folder and, ten seconds after the last one lands, Picmal writes a single PDF with one page per image, in Finder name order. Pick **Fit to Image**, **A4**, or **US Letter** pages and the JPEG quality for the embedded images in the folder's settings, name the PDF with the usual [naming tokens](/docs/output-and-naming#tokens), and turn on **Delete originals after processing** if you want the images cleared once the PDF exists.

#### Combine PDFs

Same idea, for PDFs: everything that arrives inside the ten-second window is merged into one document, in name order.

From the terminal, `picmal-cli watch add --action images-to-pdf` and `--action combine-pdf` set these up. See [Command line](/docs/cli#watch-add).

### Output destination

| Option           | Description                              |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Same folder      | Save processed files alongside originals |
| Output subfolder | Save into a "Processed" subfolder        |
| Custom location  | Save to a folder you choose              |

### File type filter

Choose which types of files to process:

- Images
- Audio
- Video

### Presets

Pick image, audio, and video compression presets independently for each watched folder.

### Resize settings

Each watched folder can have its own resize configuration. Choose from several resize modes:

- **Percentage**. Scale by a percentage of the original size
- **Fixed dimensions**. Resize to exact width and height
- **Max dimensions**. Fit within a maximum width and height, preserving aspect ratio
- **Width only**. Set a fixed width, height adjusts automatically
- **Height only**. Set a fixed height, width adjusts automatically
- **Max file size**. Scale each image down to fit a target file size

### Naming

Set a prefix and/or suffix for output files, or write a full naming pattern using the same tokens as **Settings → Output**, `{original}`, `{date}`, `{camera}`, and the rest. See [output and naming](/docs/output-and-naming#tokens) for the full list.

`{sequence}` works a little differently here. A watched folder sees files one at a time rather than as a batch, so instead of restarting at 1 with every file it keeps a running count for that folder. The folder's settings show how many numbers it has handed out and give you a **Reset** button to start again at 1.

### Additional options

| Option                 | Description                                         |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Include subfolders     | Also watch files in subdirectories                  |
| Delete originals after processing | Remove source files after processing     |
| Process existing files when added | Queue every supported file already in the folder when you add it. The Edit sheet also has a **Process Existing Files Now** button to run it whenever you like |
| Min file size          | Skip files smaller than this (KB)                   |
| Max file size          | Skip files larger than this (MB)                    |
| Remove metadata        | Strip metadata from processed files                 |
| Compress output after converting | When in Convert mode, compress the output file afterward |

## Notifications

When a watched folder finishes processing, Picmal posts a native macOS notification with the file count and total savings. Manage delivery (banners, sounds, summaries) under **System Settings → Notifications → Picmal**.

## Requirements

- **Keep in menu bar** must be enabled in Settings for watched folders to work in the background
- Pair it with **Start at login** if you want processing to resume after a reboot without you opening the app

## Tips

- Use watched folders with your Downloads folder to auto-compress screenshots and photos
- Set up a "web export" folder that converts everything to WebP
- Combine with cloud sync folders (iCloud, Dropbox) for automatic optimization
- Point your scanner at an **Images to PDF** folder and get one filed document per scanning session
- Watch a "music" folder to compress new tracks as they arrive. To change their format instead, see the [audio converter for Mac](/audio-converter-mac)