How to Choose When Safari Clears the Downloaded File List on Your Mac - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

How to Choose When Safari Clears the Downloaded File List on Your Mac

by

safari iconIn Apple's Safari browser in macOS, the Downloads pane is where you can find information on things you've downloaded from the web to your Mac's hard drive.

You can access it from the Safari toolbar by clicking the Show Downloads button, or by selecting View -> Show Downloads from the menu bar. Once it's open, you can click and drag it to a more convenient location on your screen.

The Downloads pane helps you keep track of anything you're currently downloading, as well as any files that you recently downloaded. You can also use it to navigate to the storage location of your downloads by clicking their Show in Finder button, and you can retry failed downloads by clicking the Reload buttons.

safari
By default, the Download pane's file list is cleared after one day, but if you want you can change it so that successfully completed downloads clear immediately, or you can opt to clear the list manually. Here's how.

  1. Launch Safari on your Mac.
    safari

  2. Select Safari -> Preferences… from the menu bar.
    safari

  3. With the General tab selected, click the dropdown next to Remove download list items and choose one of the options: After one day, When Safari quits, Upon successful download, or Manually.
    safari

If you selected the Manually option, use the Clear button at the top of the Downloads pane to remove all downloaded items from the list.

Tag: Safari

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....