File Organizer

File Organizer

Instructions

1. Understand Scope

Ask clarifying questions before starting:

• Which directory needs organization?
• Main problem? (can't find things, duplicates, no structure, general mess)
• Files or folders to avoid? (active projects, sensitive data)
• How aggressive? (conservative vs comprehensive cleanup)

For broad reorganization, briefly propose a philosophy from the reference guide (PARA, Johnny Decimal, GTD, 7-Folder). Let user choose - never force one. Skip for scoped tasks like cleaning Downloads.

2. Analyze Current State

ls -la [target_directory]
find [target_directory] -type f -exec file {} \; | head -20
du -sh [target_directory]/* | sort -rh | head -20
find [target_directory] -type f | sed 's/.*\.//' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

Summarize: total files/folders, type breakdown, size distribution, date ranges, obvious issues.

Anti-patterns to flag:

• Desktop used as permanent archive (goal: zero permanent files on Desktop)
• Unnamed folders (New Folder, New Folder (3))
• Broken versioning (document_FINAL_v2_DEFINITIVE_copy.docx)
• Downloads folder never cleaned (thousands of unsorted files)
• Same file duplicated across locations (use shortcuts instead)

3. Identify Organization Patterns

By type:

• Documents (PDF, DOCX, TXT), Images (JPG, PNG, SVG), Videos (MP4, MOV)
• Archives (ZIP, TAR, DMG), Code/Projects, Spreadsheets (XLSX, CSV), Presentations (PPTX, KEY)

By purpose:

• Work vs Personal, Active vs Archive, Project-specific, Reference, Temporary/scratch

By date:

• Current year/month, Previous years, Very old (archive candidates)

Context-specific structures:

• Photos/Video: Year/YYYY-MM_event-location/ with RAW, Edited, Export subfolders
• Music: Artist/[Year] Album/NN - Track.ext
• Work projects: numbered prefixes (01_Brief/, 02_Research/, 03_Assets/, 04_Deliverables/) with WIP/FINAL_APPROVED separation
• Finance/personal docs: include expiry dates in filenames (passport_exp_2030.pdf), organize by year then type
• Code: map local paths to remote URLs (github.com/username/repo/)

See references/organization-guide.md for detailed templates.

4. Find Duplicates

When requested:

find [directory] -type f -exec md5 {} \; | sort | uniq -d
find [directory] -type f -printf '%f\n' | sort | uniq -d

For each duplicate set: show paths, sizes, dates, recommend which to keep. ALWAYS confirm before deleting. Suggest shortcuts/aliases instead of keeping copies.

5. Propose Organization Plan

Present plan before making changes. Include:

• Current state summary (file count, size, type breakdown, problems found)
• Anti-patterns detected
• Proposed folder tree structure
• Changes to make: new folders, file moves, renames, deletions
• Files needing user decision (ambiguous placement)
• Ask for explicit approval before proceeding

6. Execute Organization

After approval, organize systematically.

Rules:

• Always confirm before deleting anything
• Log all moves for potential undo
• Preserve original modification dates
• Handle filename conflicts gracefully
• Stop and ask on unexpected situations

File renaming conventions (only when user agrees - never auto-rename):

• ISO dates: YYYY-MM-DD for correct alphabetical sort
• Formula: [Date]_[Context]_[Description]_[Version].ext
• Zero-padded versions: v01, v02 (minor: v01.1)
• Separators: kebab-case or snake_case (never spaces)
• All lowercase, filenames under 25-30 chars, let folder context provide the rest
• Zero-pad sequences: 001, 002 (prevents 1, 10, 11, 2 sort)
• Status prefixes when useful: WIP_, DRAFT_, REVIEW_, APPROVED_
• Avoid: < > : " / \ | ? *, accents, emoji, leading dots, Windows reserved names (CON, PRN, AUX, NUL)
• Watch full path length approaching Windows 260-character limit

7. Provide Summary

After organizing, report:

• Folders created, files organized, space freed, anti-patterns fixed
• New folder tree structure
• Maintenance schedule (below)
• Custom bash commands for ongoing cleanup

Maintenance Schedule:

File Organization Reference Guide

Condensed best practices for naming, structuring, and maintaining files. Use as optional suggestions -- propose to users during organization, never force.

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Organization Philosophies

Propose these when a user needs a top-level structure. Let them choose based on personality and context.

PARA Method (Tiago Forte)

Four folders ordered by actionability. Max 2-3 levels deep.

00_Inbox/
01_Projects/       ← active work with deadlines
02_Areas/          ← ongoing responsibilities (no deadline)
03_Resources/      ← reference material by interest
04_Archives/       ← anything no longer active

Best for: freelancers, creatives, knowledge workers wanting simplicity. Weakness: ambiguity between Areas and Resources.

Johnny Decimal

Numeric IDs: max 10 areas (00-99), max 10 categories each. Item format: AC.ID (e.g. 23.04). Never more than 2 levels deep.

10-19 Finanze/
│   ├── 11 Tasse/
│   │   ├── 11.01 FY2024
│   │   └── 11.02 FY2025
│   └── 12 Estratti-Conto/
20-29 Lavoro/
    └── 21 Clienti/
        ├── 21.01 Acme-Corp
        └── 21.02 Globex-Inc

Best for: methodical users, shared environments needing unambiguous references. Weakness: rigid -- hard to restructure after initial setup.

GTD File System (David Allen)

Separate Reference (consultation) from Actionable (action). Flat alphabetical A-Z for reference. Digital flow: Inbox → Active Projects → Reference → Someday/Maybe → Archive.

Best for: complementary philosophy layered onto other systems.

7-Folder Rule

Max 7 folders per level, max 3 levels deep = 343 folders reachable in 1-3 clicks. Simple, predictable, great for teams and SMBs.

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Naming Conventions

Formula

[Date]_[Context]_[Description]_[Version].ext

All lowercase. No spaces, no accents, no special characters.

Dates -- ISO 8601

Always YYYY-MM-DD. Guarantees correct alphabetical sort across all OSes. Position at start when chronological order matters, after context when grouping by project matters.

Versioning

v + zero-padded digits: v01, v02, v03. Minor revisions: v01.1, v01.2. Always last element before extension. Status prefixes: WIP_, DRAFT_, REVIEW_, APPROVED_.

Separators

Prefer kebab-case or snake_case. Never spaces. CamelCase acceptable for project folder names only.

Zero-Padding

Always pad numbers: 01, 02... 99 -- avoids 1, 10, 11, 2 sort order.

Examples

Characters to Avoid

< > : " / \ | ? *, accents (è, ñ, ü), emoji, leading dots (hidden on Unix), Windows reserved names (CON, PRN, AUX, NUL).

Path Length

Windows limit: 260 characters for full path. Deep hierarchies with long names hit this easily.

---

Context-Specific Structures

Photos & Video

Year → date+event, with RAW/Edited/Export subfolders.

Photos/
└── 2025/
    ├── 2025-01_capodanno-roma/
    │   ├── RAW/
    │   ├── Edited/
    │   └── Export/
    └── 2025-06_vacanza-sardegna/

File naming: YYYY-MM-DD_event_location_NNN.ext.

Music

Artist/
└── [Year] Album/
    └── NN - Track.ext

Always fill Album Artist tag to prevent phantom albums from compilations.

Work Projects

Numbered prefixes for logical order. Template folder to duplicate for new projects.

Clients/
└── ClientName/
    └── 2025_ProjectName/
        ├── 01_Brief/
        ├── 02_Research/
        ├── 03_Assets/
        ├── 04_Deliverables/
        │   ├── WIP/
        │   └── FINAL_APPROVED/
        ├── 05_Meetings/
        └── 06_Admin/

Personal Archive & Finance

Include expiry dates in filenames: passport_exp_2030.pdf. Finance by year → type (invoices, statements, tax returns, receipts). Invoice naming: invoice_NNN_client_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.

Code / Developer Workspace

GOPATH-inspired mapping of local paths to remote URLs.

Code/
├── github.com/
│   ├── my-username/
│   │   ├── project-portfolio/
│   │   └── side-project/
│   └── org-work/
│       └── backend-api/
├── sandbox/        (temporary experiments)
└── archive/        (finished projects)

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Anti-Patterns to Detect

Flag these during analysis and propose fixes:

• Desktop as archive -- zero permanent files on Desktop
• `New Folder (3)` -- unnamed folders with unknown content
• `document_FINAL_v2_DEFINITIVE_copy.docx` -- broken versioning
• Downloads never cleaned -- thousands of unsorted files
• No backup strategy -- recommend 3-2-1 rule (3 copies, 2 media, 1 offsite)
• Duplicates everywhere -- 78% of professionals have this problem
• One file, multiple locations -- use shortcuts/aliases instead of copies

---

Maintenance Schedule

Propose this after organizing -- adapt frequency to user's needs.

Inbox Principle

Single entry point for all new files. Must be empty after each review session. No file stays in Inbox longer than 7 days.

Archive Tiers

• Hot -- active files on SSD
• Warm -- recent files on HDD/NAS
• Cold -- archive on external disk or cheap cloud

Compressed archives: YYYY-MM_project-name_archive.7z with a README.txt describing contents and archive date.