# Smart folders or manual folders for your Mac apps?

Manual folders keep the apps you put in them. CubbyPad’s smart folders update for categories such as Recently Installed, Not Opened Lately and Games.

By [Rudra Satani](https://cubbypad.com/about/), maker of CubbyPad · 26 October 2026

## Manual folders preserve your choices

A manual folder is a group you build and maintain. It works well for an activity with a deliberate set of tools: the browser, editor and reference app you open when writing, for example.

The benefit is predictability. You know which apps belong there because you put them there. When a project changes, you decide whether the folder should change too.

## Smart folders answer a changing question

Recently Installed helps you find new additions without remembering which page received them. Not Opened Lately is useful when reviewing software you may no longer need. Games provides a changing group for that type of app.

Their contents update as the relevant app information changes. Use them when that changing membership is useful rather than expecting them to preserve a permanent collection.

## Organize is a separate action

CubbyPad’s Organize tool previews a suggested set of folders before you apply it. That is different from a smart folder continuing to update itself. Organize is a starting arrangement you can then edit; a smart folder answers its particular query over time.

## Keep stable groups and changing groups together

- Use manual folders for repeated projects and routines.

- Use Recently Installed to inspect additions to your Mac.

- Use Not Opened Lately as a review list, then check an app before removing it.

- Keep a backup before replacing an arrangement you already depend on.

Published by CubbyPad’s maker. See [about CubbyPad](https://cubbypad.com/about/) for the author and product details. For corrections, [get in touch](https://cubbypad.com/contact/).

## Put it into practice.

[Guide

### Move apps and make folders

Drag apps into place, move a group together, rename a folder and hide an app without removing it from your Mac.

Read guide ↗](https://cubbypad.com/guides/folders/)[Guide

### Organize apps into folders automatically

Preview the folders before anything moves, then keep the result or put the old grid back with Undo.

Read guide ↗](https://cubbypad.com/guides/organize/)[Guide

### Review unused apps and leftovers

Use Cleanup to see what takes space, choose exactly what to remove, and move selected items to the Trash.

Read guide ↗](https://cubbypad.com/guides/cleanup/)

## More on app organization.

[### Move several apps between grid pages at once

Command-click selects several apps in CubbyPad so you can move the group together. Use it when a new folder or page needs more than one icon.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/move-multiple-apps-between-pages-mac/)[### Undo app grid changes before starting over

Command–Z reverses CubbyPad arrangement changes. Use a saved layout backup when you need a recovery point that survives a larger reorganization or a move to another Mac.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/undo-mac-app-grid-changes/)[### Use Mac icon packs without changing the Dock or Finder

CubbyPad’s Dot and Smoked icon packs change the app grid’s appearance. They leave each app’s own icons in the Dock and Finder alone.

Read article ↗](https://cubbypad.com/blog/mac-icon-packs-without-changing-dock/)

## Make room for your apps.

Every feature. One-time purchase. Made for macOS 26.

[Find your plan](https://cubbypad.com/pricing/)

Source: https://cubbypad.com/blog/smart-folders-vs-manual-app-folders/