File Organizer

A small, config-driven file organizer for personal use. It watches a folder (default: ~/Downloads) and moves files into categorized subfolders based on extension rules in config.json. The watcher uses watchdog and can run interactively or as a background systemd service.

(Implementation notes and behavior are drawn from the project files: config.json and organiser.py.)

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Features

• Config-driven mapping of extensions → folders (config.json).
• Interactive menu (audit / sort / watch) and --auto background mode.
• Duplicate resolution (renames files like name (1).ext).
• Designed to be installed as a systemd service for unattended, boot-time operation.

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• pip and a virtual environment (recommended).
• watchdog Python package (pip install watchdog) — the watcher depends on it.
• Systemd (if you want the service mode)

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Quick start

1. Clone or copy the project to a directory, e.g.:

git clone https://github.com/VisruthR/File-organizer
cd File-Organizer

2. Create and activate a virtualenv (optional but recommended):

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install watchdog

3. Configure extension categories in config.json. This file maps folder names to lists of extensions (example format). Edit as needed.

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Usage

Interactive mode

Run the script without flags to use the interactive menu:

python organiser.py

The interactive menu supports:

• Audit (scan and list file types),
• Start (one-time sort),
• Watch (start the background watcher manually).

Background / automatic mode

To run the watcher without prompts:

python organiser.py --auto

On first --auto run, the script will prompt to choose a watch path and save it to watch_path.txt so future --auto runs do not prompt.

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Install as a systemd service (recommended)

There is a Auto.sh file in this folder to fully automate the setting up process of background serviece

Make executable and run:

chmod +x Auto.sh
./Auto.sh

Check logs:

# live journal for the service
journalctl -u file-organizer -f

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Configuration (config.json)

config.json controls how files are grouped. Example structure (from the project): each key is a folder name and its value is a list of extensions (including the dot), e.g. "Images": [".jpeg", ".jpg", ".png", ".webp"]. Edit to add or change categories.

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Troubleshooting

• Service appears to hang during first run If organiser.py --auto starts and the service appears to wait, it may be prompting for the watch path because watch_path.txt is missing. The installer script above ensures watch_path.txt exists so the service will not block on stdin.

• Partially-downloaded files (.crdownload / .part) The watcher ignores common temporary download extensions, but large downloads may still trigger multiple events. The script adds a short sleep(1) before processing to reduce race conditions; for aggressive reliability you may want to extend the delay or employ a file-size-stability check.

• Permissions The service runs as the user that installed it (the installer sets User= automatically). Ensure the user has read/write permission on the watched folder and any destination folders.

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Development notes & tips

• Use the Python logging module (instead of print) if you want structured logs with levels and timestamps. Under systemd, stdout/stderr are collected by the journal automatically.
• The script uses watchdog for filesystem events; tests are easiest with small files dropped into the watched folder.
• If you move the project directory after installing the service, update the service's WorkingDirectory and ExecStart or reinstall the service.

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Contributing

Fixes, suggestions, and PRs welcome. When contributing, please:

• Keep behavior backwards-compatible where possible.
• Add tests or reproduction steps for any bugfix.

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