Free while we’re in preview

Get FolderForge

Write the sorting rules once. Re-run it whenever Downloads gets messy again.

The Mac button is for Apple Silicon. On an older Intel Mac, get this one instead.

One file, both ways. Double-click it for the window. Run the same file from a command prompt with arguments and it behaves as the command-line tool, because the engine is inside it. Nothing else to download and nothing to keep beside it.

Early preview. The window has been built and run, but not yet on a real Windows PC or Mac, so expect rough edges. The engine underneath it is fully tested.

One file — no installer
Runs on your machine, offline
Source code published below

Free while in preview. It isn’t signed yet, so Windows or macOS will ask you to confirm the first time you open it. At launch, FolderForge is included in every plan along with the rest of the range.

Rules live in a file, not in your head

A small JSON file maps filename globs to destination folders. *.png,*.jpg goes to Images, *.pdf,*.docx goes to Documents. Point FolderForge at your Downloads folder and every matching file moves. Next month, same command, no configuration. That’s the difference from a bulk rename tool, which you set up fresh every time you run it.

How a file picks its rule

First match in file order wins, and later matching rules are never consulted for that file. Matching is case-insensitive, so *.png catches Photo.PNG. Files matching no rule stay exactly where they are and get listed as unmatched, which is not an error.

Collision safety is all or nothing

Two files heading for the same destination path, or a destination that already exists without being part of this batch, aborts the whole run. Every collision is reported and nothing moves, including the files that had no problem.

Dry run by default

No --apply, no movement. preview is the read-only twin that cannot move a file even by accident, with --json if you want to hand the plan to something else.

It reads the folder you name, not its subfolders. Inboxes are flat.

Reading on the job itself

How to rename hundreds of files at once Check the whole batch for collisions before renaming a single file. If two files would end up with the same...

The rest of File Command Center

Bulk changes to a lot of files at once — names, places, sorting rules, or a whole plan written out in a spreadsheet.

FilePilot

Simple Ready

Renumber a photo dump, or rename a whole folder by pattern. It shows you the plan first.

FileOps

Vertical Ready

Rename in place with a real template language, and an undo that puts it all back.

FileDeck

Team Ready

A spreadsheet says what happens to each file. FileDeck does all of it, or none.

Advanced & technical details Command-line builds, source code, checksums and a recorded session — for developers and IT teams

A working CLI prototype of the rule-based auto-organizer: first-match-wins pattern-to-folder rules, a read-only preview mode, and all-or-nothing collision detection so a run either fully succeeds or touches nothing at all. Real-time filesystem-watch auto-sorting is still on the roadmap.

Naming status

Working name only — brand verdict **CAUTION** (Medium). Collision: FolderForge. Do not build a major brand until ownership is resolved.

What it draws on

Existing paid software whose best ideas shaped this program: Directory Opus, Listary Pro, Duplicate Cleaner Pro, Advanced Renamer Commercial.

Command line

There is nothing extra to install. The program you download is the command-line tool as well: give it arguments instead of double-clicking it and it runs as one, with its output on your terminal. The standalone builds below are the same engine on its own, for machines where you would rather not ship a window at all.

folderforge - rule-based automatic file organizer

usage: folderforge <command> [flags]

commands:
  organize <source-dir> --rules <rules.json> [--dest-root <dir>] [--apply]
      Scan <source-dir> (files directly inside it, non-recursive) and, for
      each file, find the first rule in the rules file whose pattern
      matches its name. Files matching no rule are left in place and
      reported as "unmatched" (not an error).

      Before moving anything, the full batch is validated for collisions:
      two different source files that would land at the exact same
      destination path, or a destination path that already exists as a
      file outside this batch. If ANY collision is found, ALL collisions
      are reported and the ENTIRE BATCH is aborted -- nothing is moved.

      Without --apply: dry run. Prints the full plan (file -> rule ->
      destination), the unmatched files, and any collisions. Touches
      nothing on disk.

      With --apply (and zero collisions): performs every move via
      os.Rename, creating destination directories as needed.

      --dest-root <dir>   Root directory under which rule "dest" folders
                           are created. Defaults to <source-dir> itself
                           if omitted.

  preview <source-dir> --rules <rules.json> [--json]
      Read-only shortcut: exactly the dry-run view of "organize" (no
      --apply flag exists for preview; it can never move files). Add
      --json to print the plan as machine-readable JSON instead of text.

  help
      Show this message.

rules file format (JSON):
  {
    "rules": [
      { "name": "images", "match": "*.png,*.jpg,*.jpeg", "dest": "Images" },
...

Recorded from the shipped binary, not written by hand.

Windows (amd64) macOS (Apple Silicon) macOS (Intel) Linux (amd64)

Source

Every file the program is built from:

console.go · console_test.go · guided.go · main.go

SHA-256 checksums · build instructions & scope notes · full build plan

FolderForge

Preview