Twelve copy-paste Claude Cowork prompts for file work — organise, rename, deduplicate, manifest, archive, find, cluster, convert. Each annotated with what to edit.
TL;DR. Twelve copy-paste prompts for the work you do on raw files — organise, rename, deduplicate, manifest, archive, find, cluster, convert. Each one is annotated with what to edit before running. The "copy never move" pattern is the most under-used safety net; bake it into your CLAUDE.md.
Each prompt assumes the workspace pattern from The workspace pattern — inbox/, output/, archive/, plus CLAUDE.md. Change the paths and the constraints to match your workspace before running.
Use when a folder has accumulated mixed file types and you want a sane structure.
Read /inbox/.
Plan a taxonomy by document type (invoice, contract, slide, image, other)
before moving anything.
After approval, copy to /output/organized/[type]/ — never move.
Produce /output/organized/INDEX.md mapping originals to copies.
Edit: folder paths, taxonomy categories.
Use when filenames are inconsistent and you want a chronological view.
For each file in /inbox/, generate a new name in the format
YYYY-MM-DD_description.ext.
Use the file's last-modified date if no date is in content.
Copy to /output/renamed/ with the new name; keep originals untouched.
Produce a rename map in /output/rename-map.csv.
Edit: date format, naming convention.
Use when you suspect duplicates with different filenames.
For every file in /inbox/, compute a content hash.
Group files with matching hashes.
For each group, keep one in /output/unique/ and move others to
/output/duplicates/.
Produce /output/dup-report.csv with hash, kept-file, duplicate-files.
Edit: whether to use exact match or fuzzy similarity.
Use as a daily scheduled task.
Look at every file in /inbox/ added since yesterday.
Classify into the categories defined in /CLAUDE.md/categories.
Move into /staging/[category]/.
Append a summary to /output/sweep-log.md.
Plan first.
Edit: define the category taxonomy in CLAUDE.md.
Use after any bulk move to document what happened.
For every file in /output/, produce one row in /output/MANIFEST.md:
- Filename
- One-line summary of contents
- Inferred document type
- Date
Edit: extend columns as needed.
Use to keep working folders clean.
For files in /output/ last modified before [date]:
Move to /archive/[YYYY-Qn]/.
Preserve subfolder structure.
Produce /archive/[YYYY-Qn]/INDEX.md.
Edit: cutoff date and archive label.
Use to discover where a topic lives.
Search /inbox/ recursively for files mentioning [pattern].
For each match, list filename, page or paragraph, snippet (200 chars).
Output to /output/search-results.md.
Plain text — no marketing.
Edit: pattern, snippet length.
Use when files are similar-but-not-identical (drafts, near-duplicates).
For files in /inbox/, cluster by similarity above 75%.
Create /output/clusters/cluster-N/ for each cluster.
Within each cluster, identify the latest version.
Produce /output/cluster-report.md naming the recommended version per cluster.
Edit: similarity threshold.
Use for format normalisation.
For every .docx in /inbox/, produce a .pdf in /output/pdfs/.
Match the original filename.
Preserve layout where possible; surface any conversion issues to
/output/conversion-log.md.
Edit: source/target formats.
Use when files were dumped into a single folder and a structure existed before.
Read /inbox/legacy-structure.md (the desired structure).
For files in /inbox/flat/, classify into the structure.
Copy to /output/restored/.
Place ambiguous files in /output/restored/_review/.
Edit: provide the legacy structure.
Use as a quarterly hygiene check.
For every file in /workspace/, check name against /CLAUDE.md/naming-rules.
Output /output/naming-violations.csv with filename, rule violated,
suggested name.
Do not rename automatically.
Edit: codify naming rules in CLAUDE.md.
Use before a big cleanup to know what you're dealing with.
Walk /workspace/ recursively. Produce /output/inventory.xlsx with:
filename, parent folder, size, last modified, document type.
Include a summary tab: counts and total size by type.
Edit: any extra columns.
The "copy never move" pattern is the most under-used safety net. We see teams skip it once and then never again, usually after losing 200 client files in a misfire. Bake it into CLAUDE.md so every prompt inherits it by default — "unless explicitly told to move, always copy."
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