Beta 0.2
Available here while the Mac App Store release is in the works
01macOS will block it the first time
And it is right to block: this build has not been through Apple notarization yet. I am handing it out directly while the store version is prepared, and notarization replaces this step. Nothing is wrong with your Mac or with the file.
Drag the app into Applications and open it. A warning will say the app could not be verified. Then:
- open System Settings → Privacy & Security;
- scroll to the bottom, where it says Downloads Inbox was blocked;
- click Open Anyway and confirm.
After that macOS asks permission to read your Downloads folder. That is the only permission the app uses.
02What changed in 0.2
0.1 could only look. This one acts, and undoes.
- Filing that actually moves things. Pick the folder once and it becomes a shortcut from then on. If a file by that name is already sitting there, it says so and moves nothing — it never overwrites quietly.
- Renaming that gives the name back its context. 1.png becomes 2026-07-15 - Teams Marina Alves - 1.png. The field opens filled in and you have the last word. The date stays in ISO on purpose: it is the only format that sorts correctly in the Finder.
- History with undo. Everything the app did is on the record, with the way back next to it.
- Filter chips. Pre-counted shortcuts for whatever is on screen — images, never opened, installers. Empty ones do not show up.
- Grouping by channel. Files from the same Teams conversation stay together instead of splitting into one group per person.
- Drag out, double-click to open. Pull a file straight into your mail, Slack or browser; double-click opens it where it belongs.
- Snooze is gone. The Downloads folder is already one big snooze, so the button changed nothing. Keep here took its place, for the files that sit there on purpose.
What it still will not do: touch the network, or delete anything for good — discarding always means the system Trash, after a confirmation that lists what is about to move.
Your decisions, the history and the folders you authorised live under ~/Library/Containers/com.downloadsinbox.app/. Deleting that folder resets the app and affects nothing else.
03What I am hoping to learn
Three questions, most important first:
- Did grouping by source hold up? The Folder report has a line called "concentration of the top 3 sources". High means grouping this way works on your folder. Low means you will see a pile of one-item groups, and that is exactly what I need to find out before writing more code.
- Did it get anything wrong? A file in the wrong group, a name flagged as unhelpful when it is not, an installer called "already installed" that you never installed. Those are the reports I want most.
- Would you open it again next week? An honest no is worth more than a polite yes.
If you want to send the Folder report numbers, it is the four lines on that screen. A screenshot works.
04Getting in touch
Reply wherever you got this link, or write to [email protected]. Mentioning your macOS version helps.