FolderForge
Write the sorting rules once. Re-run it whenever Downloads gets messy again.
Free right now. No account, no card
Preview
1 interface design, then a screenshot of it running. Drag, scroll or use the arrows.
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. here is exactly what to click. 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.
Questions about FolderForge
What does FolderForge do?
FolderForge clears out a folder full of odds and ends by moving each file into the folder it belongs in, following rules you write once and use for years. Before it moves anything it checks the whole batch: if two files would land on the same name, or something is already sitting where a file would go, it tells you about every clash and moves nothing at all. Nothing is ever deleted or written over.
Will FolderForge delete my files?
No. Anything FolderForge takes away is moved into a folder you choose, with its path kept, so you can look through it and put anything back. It also prints the entire plan first and stops until you tell it to go ahead.
Does FolderForge send anything over the internet?
No. There is no network code compiled into FolderForge at all, nothing in the binary can open a socket. 88 of the 100 programs here are like that.
Does FolderForge run on a Mac?
Yes. There are builds for Apple Silicon and for Intel Macs, as well as for Windows and Linux, one file each, with no installer and nothing to uninstall.
Is FolderForge free?
Yes, while Techlosoft is in preview: no account, no card, and nothing switched off. Later it is part of a plan covering all 100 programs rather than sold on its own, and anything you download now carries on working.
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...
- How to sort out a Downloads folder that got away from you Do not tidy it. Write the rule that tidies it. Rules in a file, checked for collisions before anything move...
FilePilot
Simple ReadyRenumber a photo dump, or rename a whole folder by pattern. It shows you the plan first.
FileOps
Vertical ReadyRename in place with a real template language, and an undo that puts it all back.
FileDeck
Team ReadyA 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.
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