Goal-Focused Folder Organization

Your folder structure should mirror your priorities. When files are organized by goals, not file types, your digital environment actively supports what you're trying to achieve.

Modes

Interactive Mode (First Run)

Inputs Required

• Folder path to organize
• User's goals/projects (asked during session)
• Approval before executing

Outputs

• Goal-based folder structure created
• Files moved to appropriate folders
• Cleanup candidates in _To-Review/
• Config file saved (.goal-org-config.yaml)
• Option to set up automation

Workflow

Step 1: Understand Goals

Ask 2-3 questions:

• "What are your main projects or goals right now?"
• "What do you use this folder for most often?"

Skip if goals are known from context.

Step 2: Analyze Files

ls -la "/path/to/folder"

For ambiguous files, inspect contents. Identify duplicates, installers, incomplete downloads.

Step 3: Propose Plan

Present folder structure organized by goals:

01-Goal-Name/
02-Another-Goal/
03-Admin/
04-Personal/
_To-Review/

Wait for user approval before proceeding.

Step 4: Execute

After approval:

• Create folders
• Move files to appropriate locations
• Move duplicates/installers to _To-Review/
• Never hard delete

Step 5: Save Config

Create .goal-org-config.yaml in the folder:

goals:
  - "Learning AI"
  - "Building startup"
folders:
  01-Learning-AI: "Courses, research, tutorials"
  02-Building-Startup: "Product docs, code, data"
schedule:
  enabled: false

Step 6: Offer Automation

Ask: "Want to automate this regularly?"

If yes:

• Ask: "How often? (daily, weekly, weekdays)"
• Ask: "What time?"
• Run: scripts/setup-automation.sh <folder> <time> <frequency>
• Update config with schedule settings

Autonomous Mode (Scheduled Runs)

Inputs Required

• Folder path with existing .goal-org-config.yaml
• Prompt containing "auto" (e.g., "auto-organize", "--auto")

Outputs

• New files sorted into existing goal folders
• Ambiguous files moved to _To-Review/
• Log entry in .goal-org.log

Workflow

Step 1: Read Config

cat .goal-org-config.yaml

If no config exists, switch to Interactive mode.

Step 2: Identify New Files

Find files not in any goal folder (sitting in root).

Step 3: Sort Files

For each new file:

• Match to existing goal folder based on content/name
• If confident match → move to that folder
• If ambiguous → move to _To-Review/

Step 4: Log Results

Append to .goal-org.log:

[2025-02-02 23:30] Sorted 5 files: 3 to 01-Learning-AI, 1 to 02-Building, 1 to _To-Review

Safety Rules

• Never hard delete - always move to _To-Review/
• Never create new top-level folders in autonomous mode
• Never modify existing files - only move
• Log all actions in autonomous mode

Scripts

setup-automation.sh

Sets up scheduled runs via cron.

./scripts/setup-automation.sh <folder_path> <time> <frequency>
# Example: ./scripts/setup-automation.sh ~/Downloads 23:30 daily

Frequencies: daily, weekly, weekdays

Examples

Interactive first run:

User: "Organize my Downloads folder"
Claude: Asks about goals → proposes structure → waits for approval

Autonomous scheduled run:

User: "Auto-organize my Downloads"
Claude: Reads config → sorts new files → logs results

Ambiguous file:

Found: mystery-file-abc123.pdf
Action: Move to _To-Review/ (user reviews later)