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)

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

Related Skills

• obsidian-automation — knowledge organization
• applescript-jxa — Mac file automation
• keyboard-maestro — file workflow automation

GitNexus Index

This skill is indexed by GitNexus for knowledge graph traversal. Index path: /Users/localuser/.claude/skills/file-organizer/.gitnexus Last indexed: 2026-05-23