File Organizer

Scan, deduplicate, and organize files in a directory by type, generating a dry-run plan before optionally moving files without deleting anything.

Scans a target directory, categorizes files by type, finds duplicates, and generates (or executes) a cleanup plan. Dry-run by default — always shows what will happen before doing it.

Scripts

All scripts live in scripts/. Run with python3. No third-party dependencies.

Script	Purpose
scan.py	Walk a directory, output JSON inventory
find_duplicates.py	Find duplicate files by content hash
organize.py	Generate and optionally execute a move plan
manifest.py	Produce a markdown before/after manifest

Category mappings (extension → folder) are in references/categories.md. Read it if asked about supported file types or to customize mappings.

Typical Workflow

1. Scan the directory

python3 scripts/scan.py ~/Downloads --output /tmp/scan.json

Add --hash to pre-compute hashes (needed for duplicate detection without a separate pass).

2. Find duplicates (optional)

python3 scripts/find_duplicates.py /tmp/scan.json --output /tmp/dupes.json

Or scan and deduplicate in one step:

python3 scripts/find_duplicates.py --directory ~/Downloads

3. Generate organization plan (dry run)

python3 scripts/organize.py /tmp/scan.json --output /tmp/plan.json

Or scan + plan in one step:

python3 scripts/organize.py --directory ~/Downloads

Key flags:

• --dest ~/Downloads/Organized — custom destination (default: <dir>/Organized/)
• --flat — don't preserve subdirectory structure
• --dry-run — default, shows plan without moving anything
• --execute — actually move files (prompts for confirmation)
• --execute --yes — skip confirmation prompt

4. Execute the plan

python3 scripts/organize.py /tmp/scan.json --execute
# or skip the prompt:
python3 scripts/organize.py /tmp/scan.json --execute --yes

5. Generate manifest

# From plan JSON
python3 scripts/manifest.py --plan /tmp/plan.json --output /tmp/manifest.md

# Before/after comparison (run scan.py twice)
python3 scripts/manifest.py --before /tmp/before.json --after /tmp/after.json --output /tmp/diff.md

# Simple inventory
python3 scripts/manifest.py --scan /tmp/scan.json --output /tmp/inventory.md

Safety Rules

• organize.py never deletes files — only moves them
• Dry-run is the default; --execute must be explicit
• Symlinks are skipped (never moved)
• Destination conflicts are flagged in the plan and skipped during execution (unless --yes)
• Hidden files/dirs (.dotfiles) are skipped by default; use --include-hidden to include them

Common Scenarios

"Clean up my Downloads folder" → Run scan + organize dry-run, show the plan summary, ask user to confirm before executing.

"Find duplicate files in my Desktop" → Run find_duplicates.py --directory ~/Desktop, report groups sorted by wasted space.

"Organize my files and save a report" → Run scan → organize (dry-run) → confirm → organize (execute) → manifest to markdown.

"What file types are supported?" → Read references/categories.md and summarize the category mappings.

Output Locations

Default destination for organized files: <target_dir>/Organized/ Subfolders are created per category: Images/, Documents/, Videos/, etc. Files with unrecognized extensions go to Other/.