Directory Changed

Trigger folder

trigger.directory_changed

Fires when files change in a watched directory. Unlike the File Changed trigger which monitors a single file, this trigger watches an entire directory and optionally its subdirectories for file system events.

You can filter by event type (created, modified, deleted, or all) and choose whether to recurse into subdirectories. This makes it ideal for watching download folders, project directories, or any location where new files may appear.

Works with iCloud Drive and other cloud folders (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive), including ~/Desktop and ~/Documents when Desktop & Documents syncing is on. A file that syncs in from another device can appear before its contents have downloaded; Wait for iCloud download holds the trigger until the bytes are on this Mac, so the rest of the flow reads a complete file (see Configuration below).

Ports

Direction Name Data Type Description
Outlet Output Any Payload emitted when a file in the directory changes

Configuration

Field Type Default Description
Directory Directory Picker — Path to the directory to watch
Watch Subdirectories Boolean true Whether to watch inside subdirectories too. Off means this directory's files only: a subfolder appearing or going away does not fire the trigger
Event Types Dropdown Created Filter by event type: Created, Modified, Deleted, or All Events. Defaults to Created so a flow that moves files out of the folder doesn’t re-fire on its own deletions
Wait for iCloud download Boolean true When the file lives only in iCloud Drive or another cloud folder (its bytes aren’t on this Mac yet), download it first and fire once it’s fully here. Uses your internet connection and may use metered data. Turn off to fire immediately with the path — a downstream node that reads the file will then trigger the download itself.
Custom Arguments Key-Value — Additional key-value pairs included in the output payload

Output Variables

Variable Type Description
filePath String Full path of the changed file
fileName String Name of the changed file
directory String Parent directory path
fileExtension String Lowercased extension without the dot (e.g. pdf) — handy for {{directory}}/{{fileType}}/{{fileName}} sorting
fileType String Coarse category for organizing by type (Images, Documents, Audio, Videos, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Archives, Other)
changeType String Type of change (created / modified / deleted)
timestamp String ISO 8601 timestamp of the event

Example

Watch a Downloads folder and auto-organize new files by extension: