File Organizer

When to Use This Skill

• Your Downloads folder is a chaotic mess

• You can't find files because they're scattered everywhere

• You have duplicate files taking up space

• Your folder structure doesn't make sense anymore

• You want to establish better organization habits

• You're starting a new project and need a good structure

• You're cleaning up before archiving old projects

What This Skill Does

• Analyzes Current Structure: Reviews your folders and files to understand what you have

• Finds Duplicates: Identifies duplicate files across your system

• Suggests Organization: Proposes logical folder structures based on your content

• Automates Cleanup: Moves, renames, and organizes files with your approval

• Maintains Context: Makes smart decisions based on file types, dates, and content

• Reduces Clutter: Identifies old files you probably don't need anymore

Instructions

When a user requests file organization help:

Understand the Scope

Ask clarifying questions:

• Which directory needs organization? (Downloads, Documents, entire home folder?)

• What's the main problem? (Can't find things, duplicates, too messy, no structure?)

• Any files or folders to avoid? (Current projects, sensitive data?)

• How aggressively to organize? (Conservative vs. comprehensive cleanup)

Analyze Current State

Review the target directory:

Get overview of current structure

ls -la [target_directory]

Check file types and sizes

find [target_directory] -type f -exec file {} ; | head -20

Identify largest files

du -sh [target_directory]/* | sort -rh | head -20

Count file types

find [target_directory] -type f | sed 's/.*.//' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

Summarize findings:

• Total files and folders

• File type breakdown

• Size distribution

• Date ranges

• Obvious organization issues

Identify Organization Patterns

Based on the files, determine logical groupings:

By Type:

• Documents (PDFs, DOCX, TXT)

• Images (JPG, PNG, SVG)

• Videos (MP4, MOV)

• Archives (ZIP, TAR, DMG)

• Code/Projects (directories with code)

• Spreadsheets (XLSX, CSV)

• Presentations (PPTX, KEY)

By Purpose:

• Work vs. Personal

• Active vs. Archive

• Project-specific

• Reference materials

• Temporary/scratch files

By Date:

• Current year/month

• Previous years

• Very old (archive candidates)

Find Duplicates

When requested, search for duplicates:

Find exact duplicates by hash

find [directory] -type f -exec md5 {} ; | sort | uniq -d

Find files with similar names

find [directory] -type f -printf '%f\n' | sort | uniq -d

Find similar-sized files

find [directory] -type f -printf '%s %p\n' | sort -n

For each set of duplicates:

• Show all file paths

• Display sizes and modification dates

• Recommend which to keep (usually newest or best-named)

• Important: Always ask for confirmation before deleting

Propose Organization Plan

Present a clear plan before making changes:

Organization Plan for [Directory]

Current State

• X files across Y folders
• [Size] total
• File types: [breakdown]
• Issues: [list problems]

Proposed Structure

[Directory]/ ├── Work/ │ ├── Projects/ │ ├── Documents/ │ └── Archive/ ├── Personal/ │ ├── Photos/ │ ├── Documents/ │ └── Media/ └── Downloads/ ├── To-Sort/ └── Archive/

Changes I'll Make

1. Create new folders: [list]
2. Move files:
   • X PDFs → Work/Documents/
   • Y images → Personal/Photos/
   • Z old files → Archive/
3. Rename files: [any renaming patterns]
4. Delete: [duplicates or trash files]

Files Needing Your Decision

• [List any files you're unsure about]

Ready to proceed? (yes/no/modify)

Execute Organization

After approval, organize systematically:

Create folder structure

mkdir -p "path/to/new/folders"

Move files with clear logging

mv "old/path/file.pdf" "new/path/file.pdf"

Rename files with consistent patterns

Example: "YYYY-MM-DD - Description.ext"

Important Rules:

• Always confirm before deleting anything

• Log all moves for potential undo

• Preserve original modification dates

• Handle filename conflicts gracefully

• Stop and ask if you encounter unexpected situations

Provide Summary and Maintenance Tips

After organizing:

Organization Complete! ✨

What Changed

• Created [X] new folders
• Organized [Y] files
• Freed [Z] GB by removing duplicates
• Archived [W] old files

New Structure

[Show the new folder tree]

Maintenance Tips

To keep this organized:

1. Weekly: Sort new downloads
2. Monthly: Review and archive completed projects
3. Quarterly: Check for new duplicates
4. Yearly: Archive old files

Quick Commands for You

Find files modified this week

find . -type f -mtime -7

Sort downloads by type

[custom command for their setup]

Find duplicates

[custom command]

Want to organize another folder?

Best Practices

Folder Naming

• Use clear, descriptive names

• Avoid spaces (use hyphens or underscores)

• Be specific: "client-proposals" not "docs"

• Use prefixes for ordering: "01-current", "02-archive"

File Naming

• Include dates: "2024-10-17-meeting-notes.md"

• Be descriptive: "q3-financial-report.xlsx"

• Avoid version numbers in names (use version control instead)

• Remove download artifacts: "document-final-v2 (1).pdf" → "document.pdf"

When to Archive

• Projects not touched in 6+ months

• Completed work that might be referenced later

• Old versions after migration to new systems

• Files you're hesitant to delete (archive first)