As tech enthusiasts, we all download videos, music, images, torrents, and more—yet everything piles up in the default Downloads folder, turning it into a cluttered mess. Manually sorting files by copying and pasting is tedious. In this expert guide, drawn from years of optimizing browser workflows, I'll show you how to automatically route songs to your Music folder, videos to Videos, and more—exclusively for Google Chrome.
With this setup, you can direct any file type to your chosen folder. Let's dive into the step-by-step process, backed by reliable Chrome extensions and proven techniques.
The simplest solution is the trusted Chrome extension Download Router, which lets you save files to specific subfolders within Downloads—or beyond, with a clever workaround we'll cover later. After installing from the Chrome Web Store, you're taken to the options page to define routing rules.
There are three rule types: by file type (e.g., MP3 for music), referrer (e.g., downloads from facebook.com), or filename (matching keywords in the file name). These give you precise control based on real-world downloading patterns I've tested extensively.
Start with file type rules. Default rules exist for JPEG images and torrents. To add MP4 videos and GIFs, use MIME types—not extensions. Reference this comprehensive MIME types list for accuracy.
I've set video/mp4 to a Videos subfolder and image/gif to GIFs/Animated within Downloads. Folders auto-create on first download—don't worry if they're not there immediately. Use "/" for root-level folders.
For referrer rules, like Facebook media from CDNs (e.g., scontent.fdel1-1.fna.fbcdn.net), right-click the file, open in a new tab, and copy the true source URL. Large sites like Facebook and Twitter often use CDNs, so verify this way.
Filename rules use keywords (case-insensitive), with "|" as OR. Set rule priority (file type first?) to avoid conflicts, like a JPEG matching a filename keyword instead.
Note: Disable other download manager extensions to prevent conflicts with Chrome's native downloader.
Chrome's API restricts extensions from saving outside Downloads for security. Use symbolic links (symlinks) as a reliable workaround I've implemented across multiple systems.
Run Command Prompt as Administrator and use: mklink /D "Target link in Downloads" "Desired location on drive". This creates a soft symlink (shortcut). For hard links, use mklink /H. Files appear seamlessly in your target folders.
If command-line isn't your style, try this user-friendly extension alternative (link in comments). Share your tips below!
Also See: How to Bulk Download Images in Chrome
