Help · Guides · Pangalin Space Manager
How to move cold files automatically when space runs low.
If you keep an external drive plugged in, Pangalin Space Manager can move big files you haven't touched for months onto it when your Mac runs low, leaving a shortcut so apps keep working. It's off until you switch it on, it shows you the list first, and every run can be put back.
Set up the rule
- Choose Pangalin Space Manager › Settings… (⌘,) and click Space Watch.
- Under Automatic moves, switch on Move cold files automatically when space runs low.
- Set When free space falls below (30 GB to start).
- Under Move to, choose the drive. Only drives on this Mac that Pangalin Space Manager can write to are listed, not network drives.
- Choose which kinds to move: AI models, Media and big old files and Developer folders.
- Set Only items unused for: 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days (90 to start).
When it's due
Pangalin Space Manager checks after each scan and once an hour while it's open. When free space is below your level, it tells you it's ready (Ready to move … to …), and the Dashboard says Your automatic move rule is ready to move ….
- Click Review. The list shows each item, its size and when it was last used.
- Click Move to … (your drive's name) to go ahead, or Not Now.
Each item is copied, checked, and replaced by a shortcut, so apps keep working while the drive is connected. A moved file counts toward your free 5 GB, like any move.
What it picks, and what it never does
- It moves the biggest items first, at most 10 items or 200 GB at a time, and stops once you're comfortably above your level.
- It only picks items whose last use it can see. Anything on your Never Clean list is never touched.
- It never runs without the drive connected. If the drive is missing, the Dashboard says nothing was moved.
- It checks only your startup disk, and only while Pangalin Space Manager is open.
Move without asking
With a licence you can switch on Move without asking (needs a licence), and runs go ahead without the review. The Dashboard then reports what moved. Without a licence, each run waits for your review instead.
Put a run back
Open History. Under Automatic moves, each run shows how many items went to which drive, and whether it moved after your review or without asking. Click Put All Back. Putting moves back is always free.
If the drive is unplugged, the moved files won't open until it's back. Moved Files shows a card for each missing drive, and Mount … remounts a drive that's plugged in but not mounted. Nothing is lost: the files are on the drive.
Related guides
Checked against Pangalin Space Manager 3.47.0, 10 October 2026. Screenshots from Pangalin Space Manager 3.48.0, 11 October 2026.