Organize Downloads Automatically

Have Claw watch your Downloads folder and intelligently sort files.

Your Downloads folder is chaos. PDFs from last year, screenshots named “IMG_4832.png”, and invoices buried under random files. Let’s fix that in 5 minutes.

What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this guide, Ishi will:

📂 Watch your Downloads folder for new files
🏷️ Rename files intelligently (e.g., Scan001.pdf → 2025-01-Invoice-Acme.pdf)
📁 Sort files into organized folders by type and date
👻 Show you a preview before making any changes

Step 1: Open a Conversation

Launch Claw and start a new conversation. Type:

Watch my Downloads folder and organize files as they arrive

Ishi will ask a few clarifying questions:

What types of files should I organize?
How should I sort them (by date, by type, by vendor)?
Should I rename files based on their content?

Answer naturally—Claw understands plain English.

Step 2: Review the Plan

Before touching any files, Claw shows you a plan preview:

📋 Proposed Organization Plan
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

📂 Downloads/
├── 📁 Invoices/
│   ├── 2025-01/
│   └── 2024-12/
├── 📁 Screenshots/
├── 📁 Documents/
└── 📁 Other/

🔄 Proposed Renames:
• Scan001.pdf → Acme-Corp-Invoice-2025-01-03.pdf
• IMG_4832.png → Dashboard-Screenshot-2025-01-02.png
• doc(1).docx → Project-Proposal-Draft.docx

[Approve] [Modify] [Cancel]

This is the Glass Box philosophy in action—you see exactly what will happen.

Step 3: See Ghost Files

Before any file is renamed or moved, Claw shows you a Ghost File Preview:

Current	Proposed
`Scan001.pdf`	`Acme-Corp-Invoice-2025-01-03.pdf`
Location: Downloads/	Location: Downloads/Invoices/2025-01/

The “ghost” file appears translucent until you approve. Nothing changes until you say so.

Step 4: Approve or Reject

For each file, you can:

✅ Approve — Move and rename as proposed
✏️ Edit — Modify the proposed name or location
❌ Skip — Leave this file alone
✅ Approve All — Accept all remaining proposals

Step 5: Set Up Auto-Organize (Optional)

Want Claw to do this automatically going forward? Ask:

From now on, automatically organize new downloads using this pattern

Ishi will create a watcher that:

Monitors your Downloads folder
Proposes organization for new files
Notifies you with a summary (you still approve batches)

Safety Features

Nothing Happens Without Approval

Every file operation shows a preview first. You’re always in control.

Full Undo History

Made a mistake? Every action is logged. Go to History and undo any operation.

Files Stay Local

Your files never leave your computer. Claw processes everything locally.

Example Prompts

Try these variations based on your preference:

Goal	What to Say
Sort by type	”Organize downloads into folders by file type”
Sort by date	”Sort downloads by month and year”
Invoices only	”Find all invoices in Downloads and organize by vendor”
Screenshots	”Rename screenshots based on what’s in the image”
Aggressive cleanup	”Archive anything older than 30 days”

Tips for Best Results

Be specific about your preferences — “Sort invoices by vendor name, not by date”
Start with a small batch — Test with 10 files before running on everything
Use the Safety Slider — Start at “Ask for everything” until you’re comfortable

Next Steps

Extract Data from PDFs — Pull invoice data into spreadsheets
Safety & Control — Adjust how much autonomy Ishi has
Undo History — Learn about the transaction log