CleanDownloads

CleanDownloads is a background utility that automatically deletes a file from the Downloads folder immediately after it is used for the first time

Installation

1. Download the exe file from the releases page (or compile it from the source code).

2. Run the exe file

   • It installs itself in the %LocalAppData%\CleanDownloads folder
   • Creates a shortcut in the Start Menu: Clean Downloads
   • Registers an autostart entry for the current user via the Windows Task Scheduler

3. In the window that opens, you can select the file deletion mode:

   

Notes

• If you launch the application again while it is already running, the existing instance window (single instance) will open
• No icon in the tray: launch the window again by running the shortcut or exe file

Uninstall / Disable autostart

To disable autostart only:

• Delete the Clean Downloads scheduled task (Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library).
• Or from the terminal (PowerShell/CMD):

  schtasks /Delete /TN "Clean Downloads" /F
  

To completely uninstall:

1. Close the application (kill the Clean Downloads process in Task Manager or log out of the system)
2. Delete the %LocalAppData%\CleanDownloads folder
3. Remove the shortcut in the Start menu, if it exists: %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Clean Downloads.lnk
4. Remove the scheduled task (see above), if it still exists

Build from source

Prerequisites:

• .NET SDK 10.0
• Windows 10/11

Build and publish (single‑file and self‑contained):

dotnet publish

The published single‑file exe will be located in the Clean Downloads\bin\Release\net10.0\win-x64\publish folder