Runbook 04 of 06 · Everyday · 15 min

Turn a messy folder into a tidy one.

Outcome

Your downloads, notes, or photos sorted into folders you chose, with a written log of every move.

Copy the folder first.

Work on a copy until you trust the result. This is the rule for anything that touches files you care about.

Mac · replace Downloads if needed

cp -R ~/Downloads ~/sort-me && cd ~/sort-me && claude

CheckClaude starts inside sort-me, not inside Downloads.

Ask for an inventory, not action.

The second sentence is the important one. Claude will not move anything until you say so.

Prompt · paste into Claude

List everything in this folder grouped by what it seems to be: documents, images, installers, screenshots, and so on. Give counts. Do not move or delete anything yet.

CheckGroups with counts. If a group is wrong, say so now.

Agree the structure.

Ask for a before-and-after tree. Change the names to words you would actually use. It is your folder.

Prompt · paste into Claude

Propose a folder structure for this, using at most six top-level folders with plain names. Show me the before and after as a tree. Wait for my OK.

CheckA tree you can read in ten seconds. Rename anything you would not say out loud.

Let it move things, with a log.

The log is your undo. Every move written down, old path to new path.

Prompt · paste into Claude

Do it. Move the files into that structure. Keep a file called MOVES.md that lists every file you moved, from where to where. Do not delete anything.

CheckFolders match the tree. MOVES.md exists and the count of lines matches the count of files. If it looks right, do the same on the real folder.