File Organizer
Overview
This skill acts as a personal organization assistant, helping you maintain a clean, logical file structure across your computer. It analyzes current directory contents, finds duplicates, proposes logical folder structures based on file types and context, and automates the cleanup -- all with your approval before making changes.
When to Use
- Your Downloads folder is a chaotic mess
- You cannot find files because they are scattered everywhere
- You have duplicate files taking up space
- Your folder structure no longer makes sense
- You want to establish better organization habits
- You are starting a new project and need a good structure
- You are cleaning up before archiving old projects
What It Does
- Analyzes Current Structure -- Reviews folders and files to understand what you have
- Finds Duplicates -- Identifies duplicate files across your system
- Suggests Organization -- Proposes logical folder structures based on 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
How to Use
Navigate to your home directory, then ask:
Help me organize my Downloads folder
Find duplicate files in my Documents folder
Review my project directories and suggest improvements
Clean up old files I haven't touched in 6+ months
Create a better folder structure for my [work/projects/photos/etc]
How It Works
1. Understand the Scope
Clarifying questions asked:
- Which directory needs organization?
- What is the main problem? (Can't find things, duplicates, no structure?)
- Any files or folders to avoid?
- How aggressively to organize? (Conservative vs. comprehensive)
2. Analyze Current State
# Overview of current structure
ls -la [target_directory]
# 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
3. Identify Organization Patterns
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
By Date: Current year/month, Previous years, Very old (archive candidates)
4. Find Duplicates
# Find exact duplicates by hash
find [directory] -type f -exec md5 {} \; | sort | uniq -d
# Find files with same name
find [directory] -type f -printf '%f\n' | sort | uniq -d
For each set of duplicates:
- Show all file paths
- Display sizes and modification dates
- Recommend which to keep (usually newest or best-named)
- Always ask for confirmation before deleting
5. Propose Organization Plan
# 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
1. **Create new folders**: [list]
2. **Move files**: X PDFs -> Work/Documents/, Y images -> Personal/Photos/
3. **Rename files**: [any renaming patterns]
4. **Delete**: [duplicates or trash files]
## Files Needing Your Decision
- [List any files needing manual review]
Ready to proceed? (yes/no/modify)
6. Execute Organization
After approval:
mkdir -p "path/to/new/folders"
mv "old/path/file.pdf" "new/path/file.pdf"
Rules:
- Always confirm before deleting anything
- Log all moves for potential undo
- Preserve original modification dates
- Handle filename conflicts gracefully
- Stop and ask if encountering unexpected situations
7. Completion Summary
# Organization Complete
## What Changed
- Created [X] new folders
- Organized [Y] files
- Freed [Z] GB by removing duplicates
- Archived [W] old files
## Maintenance Tips
1. **Weekly**: Sort new downloads
2. **Monthly**: Review and archive completed projects
3. **Quarterly**: Check for new duplicates
4. **Yearly**: Archive old files
Examples
Downloads Cleanup
500 files analyzed, patterns identified (work docs, personal photos, installers, random PDFs), proposed structure with 5 organized folders, moved files intelligently based on content and names.
Duplicate Removal
# Found 23 Sets of Duplicates (156 MB total)
## Duplicate Set 1: "proposal.pdf"
- /Documents/proposal.pdf (2.3 MB, modified: 2024-03-15)
- /Documents/old/proposal.pdf (2.3 MB, modified: 2024-03-15)
- /Desktop/proposal.pdf (2.3 MB, modified: 2024-03-10)
Recommendation: Keep /Documents/proposal.pdf (most recent in correct location)
Project Restructuring
Projects/
├── Active/
│ ├── client-work/
│ ├── side-projects/
│ └── learning/
├── Archive/
│ ├── 2022/
│ ├── 2023/
│ └── 2024/
└── Templates/
Photo Organization by Date
Photos/
├── 2023/
│ ├── 01-January/
│ ├── 02-February/
│ └── ...
├── 2024/
│ ├── 01-January/
│ └── ...
└── Unsorted/
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" becomes "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 are hesitant to delete (archive first)
Pro Tips
- Start Small -- Begin with one messy folder to build trust
- Regular Maintenance -- Run weekly cleanup on Downloads
- Consistent Naming -- Use "YYYY-MM-DD - Description" format for important files
- Archive Aggressively -- Move old projects to Archive instead of deleting
- Keep Active Separate -- Maintain clear boundaries between active and archived work