Any Apple Silicon or Intel Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer.
Mac desktop cleanup guide
A tiny robot.A clean desktop.
Select the files cluttering your Mac desktop, click the little robot above the Dock and watch it vacuum them into a neat folder.
Before you begin
Three things.
This guide covers Tidybo v0.1. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later and works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Download version 0.1 only from the developer’s official GitHub release page.
macOS needs this permission so Tidybo can identify your selected desktop icons.
What happens
Clean, not deleted.
Tidybo really moves the selected items. It creates a new numbered folder on your desktop and places them inside it.
Select desktop files
Click the robot
Watch it vacuum
Find one tidy folder
Read this before installing.
Tidybo v0.1 is a new, independent app. It is not signed by an identified Apple developer or notarized by Apple, so macOS will block the first launch until you approve it manually.
It also requires Accessibility permission. Only continue if you are comfortable granting that access, and download it only from the official GitHub release linked on this page.
Step-by-step guide
Bring the robot to life.
Open the GitHub release, expand Assets if needed and download Tidybo-0.1.zip. Do not download copies from unrelated websites.
Open official downloadUnzip and move the app
Double-click Tidybo-0.1.zip in Downloads. Drag the resulting Tidybo.app into your Mac’s Applications folder.
Try opening Tidybo once
Open Applications and double-click Tidybo. macOS will say it cannot verify the developer. Click Done to close that warning.
Allow the app manually
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Scroll down until you see the message that Tidybo was blocked.
- Click Open Anyway.
- Confirm with your Mac password or Touch ID, then choose Open.
Open Anyway appears only after Step 02. If you do not see it, try opening Tidybo once more and return to Privacy & Security.
Grant Accessibility access
When Tidybo asks for Accessibility permission, open System Settings and turn on Tidybo under Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Quit and reopen Tidybo if the app asks you to.
Select the clutter
Click an empty area of your desktop, then select the files and folders you want cleaned up. Use Command-click to choose separate items or drag a selection box around several icons.
Click the tiny robot
Move your pointer over the thin capsule just above the Dock. It should show how many items are selected. Click it and let the animation finish.
Find your files
Your selected items will now be inside a new folder named Tidybo Folder 1, Tidybo Folder 2 and so on. Nothing is meant to be deleted or overwritten.
Changed your mind? Open that folder and drag the files back onto the desktop.
Quick fixes
If it does not work.
The robot says zero files are selected
Select icons directly on the desktop—not files inside an open Finder window—then hover over the capsule again.
I cannot see the capsule above the Dock
Open Tidybo again from Applications. If it is already running, click its Dock icon to bring the capsule back.
Accessibility is enabled but nothing happens
Quit Tidybo completely with Command-Q, toggle its Accessibility permission off and back on, then reopen the app.
Open Anyway is missing
Try opening Tidybo from Applications first and dismiss the warning. The Open Anyway control should then appear near the bottom of Privacy & Security.
How do I stop or remove it?
Right-click Tidybo in the Dock and choose Quit, or press Command-Q. To uninstall, delete it from Applications and turn off its Accessibility permission.
Does it permanently organize my desktop?
No. Each run simply moves the currently selected items into a new numbered folder. You can move them back or organize that folder however you like.
You are ready
Select. Click. Clean.
Now the next time your desktop gets messy, your tiny robot is one click away.