dropzone

Watch, match, and act on your files.

Install

Requires Go. Works on Linux and macOS (service commands need Linux with systemd).

go install github.com/nnavales/dropzone/cmd/dropzone@latest

Quickstart

dropzone init          # creates ~/.config/dropzone/config.yml
# edit ~/.config/dropzone/config.yml, then:
dropzone               # foreground (same as dropzone run)

Configuration

settings:
  stable_for_seconds: 2 # act after a file is unchanged for this long
  on_conflict: rename # skip | overwrite | rename (default)

zones:
  - name: downloads
    path: ~/Downloads
    rules:
      - name: images
        match:
          extensions: [jpg, png]
          glob: ["shot-*"]
        action:
          move: ~/Pictures

Full configuration reference (match semantics, actions, placeholders, conflicts): docs/configuration.md.

Rule and zone order

• Rules are evaluated top to bottom; the first matching rule wins.
• Zones are matched by path prefix, top to bottom; the first match wins. For nested zones, list the inner zone first.
• Two zones cannot share the same path.

Avoiding loops

Action outputs are processed like any new file. If an action produces a file that still matches the same rule in a watched directory, it may loop indefinitely. Use a different destination or a non-matching output name.

Config errors fail fast at startup with the file location. The daemon also reloads the config automatically when the file changes.

Run as a service

Dropzone runs as a systemd user service and starts automatically when you log in.

dropzone service install
dropzone service status
dropzone service logs
dropzone service uninstall

Commands

Command	Description
dropzone init	Create the config file
dropzone validate	Validate the config file
dropzone run	Start the daemon in the foreground
dropzone service <command>	Manage the systemd user service
dropzone version	Print the version