What This Does

This playbook helps you automatically organize your messy Downloads folder. Claude Code will sort files into subfolders based on file type (images, documents, videos, etc.) and optionally by date.

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed and configured
A Downloads folder with files to organize

The CLAUDE.md Template

Copy this into a CLAUDE.md file in your Downloads folder:

# Downloads Organizer

## Goal
Organize files in this folder into subfolders by type.

## Rules
- Images (.jpg, .png, .gif, .webp, .svg) → Images/
- Documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .md) → Documents/
- Videos (.mp4, .mov, .avi, .mkv) → Videos/
- Audio (.mp3, .wav, .flac, .m4a) → Audio/
- Archives (.zip, .rar, .7z, .tar.gz) → Archives/
- Code (.js, .ts, .py, .html, .css) → Code/
- Everything else → Other/

## Instructions
1. Create the subfolders if they don't exist
2. Move each file to the appropriate folder
3. Don't move folders, only files
4. Preserve original filenames
5. Report what was moved when done

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Navigate to your Downloads folder

Open your terminal and navigate to your Downloads folder:

cd ~/Downloads

Step 2: Create the CLAUDE.md file

Create a new file called CLAUDE.md and paste the template above.

Step 3: Run Claude Code

In your terminal, run:

claude

Then type: "Organize my downloads according to the CLAUDE.md rules"

Example

Before:

Downloads/
├── vacation-photo.jpg
├── report.pdf
├── song.mp3
├── archive.zip
├── script.py
└── random-file.xyz

After:

Downloads/
├── Images/
│   └── vacation-photo.jpg
├── Documents/
│   └── report.pdf
├── Audio/
│   └── song.mp3
├── Archives/
│   └── archive.zip
├── Code/
│   └── script.py
└── Other/
    └── random-file.xyz

Tips & Variations

Add date organization: Modify the rules to include year/month subfolders like Images/2026/01/
Custom categories: Add your own file types and folders based on your workflow
Dry run first: Ask Claude to "show me what would be moved without actually moving anything" first

Troubleshooting

Problem: Files aren't being moved

Solution: Make sure Claude Code has file system permissions. Check that you're running it from the correct directory.

Problem: Some files go to "Other" unexpectedly

Solution: Add the file extension to the appropriate category in the CLAUDE.md rules.

Auto-Organize Downloads Folder