File Organizer

File Organizer

This skill acts as your personal organization assistant, helping you maintain a clean, logical file structure across your computer without the mental overhead of constant manual organization.

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

1. Analyzes Current Structure: Reviews your folders and files to understand what you have
2. Finds Duplicates: Identifies duplicate files across your system
3. Suggests Organization: Proposes logical folder structures based on your content
4. Automates Cleanup: Moves, renames, and organizes files with your approval
5. Maintains Context: Makes smart decisions based on file types, dates, and content
6. Reduces Clutter: Identifies old files you probably don't need anymore

How to Use

From Your Home Directory

cd ~

Then run Claude Code and ask for help:

Help me organize my Downloads folder

Find duplicate files in my Documents folder

Review my project directories and suggest improvements

Specific Organization Tasks

Organize these downloads into proper folders based on what they are

Find duplicate files and help me decide which to keep

Clean up old files I haven't touched in 6+ months

Create a better folder structure for my [work/projects/photos/etc]

Instructions

When a user requests file organization help:

1. 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)

2. 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

3. 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)

4. Find Duplicates

   When requested, search for 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
   
   # 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

5. 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)
   

6. 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

7. 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
   
   ```bash
   # 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?

Examples

Example 1: Organizing Downloads (From Justin Dielmann)

User: "My Downloads folder is a mess with 500+ files. Help me organize it."

Process:

1. Analyzes Downloads folder
2. Finds patterns: work docs, personal photos, installers, random PDFs
3. Proposes structure:
   • Downloads/
     • Work/
     • Personal/
     • Installers/ (DMG, PKG files)
     • Archive/
     • ToSort/ (things needing decisions)
4. Asks for confirmation
5. Moves files intelligently based on content and names
6. Results: 500 files → 5 organized folders

Example 2: Finding and Removing Duplicates

User: "Find duplicate files in my Documents and help me decide which to keep."

Output:

# 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)
Delete the other 2 copies?

[Continue for all duplicates...]

Example 3: Restructuring Projects Folder

User: "Review my ~/Projects directory and suggest improvements."

Output:

# Analysis of ~/Projects

## Current Structure Issues
- Mix of active and archived projects (3+ years old)
- No consistent naming convention
- Some projects at root, others in random subfolders
- Duplicate folders (project-name, project-name-old, project-name-v2)

## Proposed Structure

Projects/ ├── Active/ │ ├── client-work/ │ ├── side-projects/ │ └── learning/ ├── Archive/ │ ├── 2022/ │ ├── 2023/ │ └── 2024/ └── Templates/

## Specific Changes
1. Move 12 projects not touched since 2022 → Archive/
2. Consolidate 4 duplicate project folders
3. Rename projects to consistent format: "client-name-project-name"
4. Create Archive for old work

Want me to implement this?

Example 4: Organizing Photos by Date

User: "Organize my photo folders by year and month."

Output: Creates structure like:

Photos/
├── 2023/
│   ├── 01-January/
│   ├── 02-February/
│   └── ...
├── 2024/
│   ├── 01-January/
│   └── ...
└── Unsorted/

Then moves photos based on EXIF data or file modification dates.

Common Organization Tasks

Downloads Cleanup

Organize my Downloads folder - move documents to Documents,
images to Pictures, keep installers separate, and archive files
older than 3 months.

Project Organization

Review my Projects folder structure and help me separate active
projects from old ones I should archive.

Duplicate Removal

Find all duplicate files in my Documents folder and help me
decide which ones to keep.

Desktop Cleanup

My Desktop is covered in files. Help me organize everything into
my Documents folder properly.

Photo Organization

Organize all photos in this folder by date (year/month) based
on when they were taken.

Work/Personal Separation

Help me separate my work files from personal files across my
Documents folder.

Pro Tips

1. Start Small: Begin with one messy folder (like Downloads) to build trust
2. Regular Maintenance: Run weekly cleanup on Downloads
3. Consistent Naming: Use "YYYY-MM-DD - Description" format for important files
4. Archive Aggressively: Move old projects to Archive instead of deleting
5. Keep Active Separate: Maintain clear boundaries between active and archived work
6. Trust the Process: Let Claude handle the cognitive load of where things go

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)

Markdown Document Organization

This skill also handles Markdown document formatting and organization, applying docs-writer standards.

When to Use for Markdown

• Need to format Markdown documents according to docs-writer standards
• Want to rename files with descriptive names (kebab-case)
• Need to establish cross-references between related documents
• Want to clean up document structure and formatting

Markdown Organization Tasks

Format this Markdown document and rename it with a descriptive name

Organize these Markdown files and establish links between related documents

Apply docs-writer standards to this document, keep Chinese content

Markdown Organization Process

When organizing Markdown documents:

1. Read Target Document

   • Use read_file to understand current content and structure
   • Identify document type and purpose

2. Read Reference Documents (if specified)

   • Read related documents to understand context
   • Identify potential cross-reference opportunities

3. Apply docs-writer Formatting Standards

   Title Formatting:

   • Remove emoji from titles
   • Convert to sentence case (capitalize first word and proper nouns only)
   • PRESERVE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Keep titles in their original language (Chinese stays Chinese, English stays English)
   • Example: "🎬 My Movie Review" → "My movie review"
   • Example: "🎬 电影观后感" → "电影观后感" (NOT "Movie review")

   Content Improvements:

   • Add BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) summary paragraph (in the same language as the document)
   • Use active voice (subject performs the action)
   • Write in second person ("you") to speak directly to readers (or "你" for Chinese documents)
   • Use present tense verbs ("is", "open") instead of past tense ("was", "opened")
   • Write factual statements and direct commands
   • Avoid hypotheticals like "could" or "would"
   • PRESERVE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Do not translate content between languages. Keep Chinese content in Chinese, English content in English.

   Structure:

   • Use proper heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
   • Use bullet points for lists
   • Include code blocks for code snippets
   • Add links to related resources

4. Rename File (if needed)

   • Convert meaningless names (like "1.md") to descriptive kebab-case names
   • Example: "1.md" → "the-legend-of-1900.md"
   • Example: "notes.md" → "docker-compose-troubleshooting.md"

5. Establish Document Associations

   • Add "Related Documents" section at the end
   • Create bidirectional links between related documents
   • Use relative paths for links: [Movie reviews](../movies/movie.md)

6. Execute Changes

   • Use replace_string_in_file for content updates
   • Use terminal mv command for renaming
   • Update cross-references in related documents

Markdown Organization Examples

Example 1: Format and Rename Document (Chinese Content)

User: "整理这个文档，保持中文，参考 movie.md"

Process:

1. Read target document (e.g., "1.md")
2. Read reference document (movie.md)
3. Format content:
   • Remove emoji from title
   • Keep title in Chinese (e.g., "# 海上钢琴师" stays "# 海上钢琴师", NOT "# The Legend of 1900")
   • Add BLUF paragraph in Chinese
   • Improve structure with proper headings
   • Apply active voice and second person (in Chinese)
4. Rename: "1.md" → "the-legend-of-1900.md" (filename can be English for URL compatibility)
5. Add cross-reference in movie.md linking to new document

Example 2: Format Document (English Content)

User: "Format this document following docs-writer standards"

Process:

1. Read target document
2. Format content:
   • Remove emoji from title
   • Convert to sentence case (e.g., "# My Movie Review" → "# My movie review")
   • Add BLUF paragraph in English
   • Apply active voice and second person
3. Rename if needed with descriptive kebab-case name
4. Add cross-references to related documents

Example 2: Batch Organize Multiple Documents

User: "Organize all Markdown files in this folder"

Process:

1. List all .md files in directory
2. For each file:
   • Read and analyze content
   • Apply docs-writer formatting
   • Rename if filename is not descriptive
   • Identify related documents
3. Create cross-reference links between related documents
4. Provide summary of changes

Best Practices for Markdown Organization

1. Preserve Content: Keep all original information while improving formatting
2. Maintain Language: Preserve Chinese or other language content - do not translate titles or body text
3. Descriptive Names: Use clear, kebab-case filenames that describe content (preserve Chinese in titles)
4. Cross-References: Always add bidirectional links between related documents
5. BLUF First: Every document should start with a clear summary paragraph (in the document's language)
6. Consistent Style: Apply docs-writer standards consistently across all documents while respecting language

Related Use Cases

• Setting up organization for a new computer
• Preparing files for backup/archiving
• Cleaning up before storage cleanup
• Organizing shared team folders
• Structuring new project directories
• Formatting Markdown documentation
• Establishing document cross-references
• Applying consistent writing standards across docs