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:

Frequency Time Tasks

Weekly 15 min Empty Downloads, process Inbox to zero, verify recent files are in place

Monthly 45 min Scan for duplicates, verify backups, archive completed projects

Quarterly 2 hrs Disk space audit, archive projects inactive 3+ months, test backup restore

Yearly Half day Disaster recovery test, retention policy review, structure update