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10 Cowork Claude Prompts That Actually Work for File Organization

Tested prompts for Anthropic Cowork file organization. These are the ones I use daily - just copy, paste, and watch your messy folders get sorted.

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Why These Prompts?

I've tested dozens of prompts with Cowork Claude over the past week. Most were okay. These 10 are the ones I keep coming back to - they work reliably and save real time.

Fair warning: Cowork is literal. Vague instructions get vague results. These prompts are specific because that's what works. Feel free to modify them for your situation.

1. The Downloads Folder Rescue

This is the one I use most. My Downloads folder had 800+ files. Now it's organized.

Organize all files in this folder by type. Create subfolders for:
- Images (jpg, png, gif, webp, svg)
- Documents (pdf, doc, docx, txt, md)
- Spreadsheets (xls, xlsx, csv)
- Videos (mp4, mov, avi, mkv)
- Audio (mp3, wav, flac, m4a)
- Archives (zip, rar, 7z, tar)
- Other (everything else)

Move each file to its appropriate subfolder.

2. Sort by Date (Finally Find Old Files)

When I need to find "that file from October," this structure helps.

Organize files by their creation date. Create a folder structure like:
- 2026/
  - January/
  - February/
  - etc.
- 2025/
  - etc.

Move each file to the folder matching its creation month and year.

3. Project Detection (Let Cowork Figure It Out)

Surprisingly good at grouping related files. Not perfect, but saves sorting time.

Analyze the files in this folder and identify distinct projects based on
file names and content. Create a subfolder for each project and move
related files together. For files that don't clearly belong to a project,
create an "Unsorted" folder.

4. Find Duplicates (I Saved 3GB)

Don't let it delete automatically - review first. But finding them is valuable.

Scan this folder for duplicate files (same name or same content).
Create a report listing all duplicates found, showing:
- Original file location
- Duplicate file location(s)
- File size

Do not delete anything yet - just create the report so I can review.

5. Screenshot Chaos Control

I had 400+ screenshots scattered everywhere. This fixed it in 2 minutes.

Find all screenshot files in this folder (files starting with "Screenshot"
or "Screen Shot" or matching screenshot naming patterns). Organize them by:
1. Create a "Screenshots" folder if it doesn't exist
2. Inside, create subfolders by month (e.g., "2026-01-January")
3. Move screenshots to their respective month folders
4. Rename files to include the date: "Screenshot_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.png"

6. Monthly Downloads Cleanup

I run this once a month. Always review before confirming the deletions.

Clean up my Downloads folder:
1. Delete any files older than 30 days that are likely temporary
   (installers, zip files that have been extracted)
2. Move documents to a "Documents_to_Review" folder
3. Move images to an "Images_to_Sort" folder
4. Create a list of large files (>100MB) for my review
5. Identify and list any potentially important files

Show me what you plan to do before executing.

7. Client File Rename

For freelancers: consistent naming = easier billing and searching.

Rename all files in this folder using this pattern:
[ProjectName]_[Date]_[OriginalName].[extension]

Where:
- ProjectName = "ClientX"
- Date = file's creation date in YYYY-MM-DD format
- OriginalName = current filename (without extension)
- extension = keep original extension

Show me the before/after list before renaming.

8. New Project Scaffold

Modify this for your stack. Saves 5 minutes every new project.

Create a new project folder structure for a web development project:

ProjectName/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── pages/
│   ├── styles/
│   └── utils/
├── public/
│   └── images/
├── docs/
├── tests/
└── README.md (create with basic project template)

9. Archive Old Stuff

Good for end-of-year cleanup. The manifest file is key for finding things later.

Find all files in this folder that haven't been modified in the last
6 months. Move them to an "Archive" folder, maintaining their original
folder structure. Create a manifest file listing all archived files
with their original locations and dates.

10. Photo Library Organizer

EXIF data makes this accurate. Great for camera imports.

Organize photos in this folder:
1. Create folders by year and month (YYYY/MM-MonthName/)
2. Identify and group photos that appear to be from the same event
   (taken within a few hours of each other)
3. Create event subfolders where appropriate
4. Separate screenshots from actual photos
5. Identify and flag potential duplicates

Use EXIF data when available for accurate dating.

Tips from Experience

  • Always preview first - The "show me before executing" line is there for a reason
  • Test on copies - First time using a prompt? Try it on duplicates
  • Be specific about exceptions - If there's something you don't want touched, say so
  • Modify for your needs - These are starting points, not commandments

What's Next

These prompts handle about 80% of my file organization needs with Cowork Claude. We're building a full prompt library with 100+ more at CoworkEase.

Join our waitlist if you want early access when it launches. Or check back here - we'll keep posting useful Anthropic Cowork prompts.

Related Guides

Want more Cowork Claude resources? These guides will help: