When designing a filename scheme, bear in mind the following conventions:

• Plaintext is used for the primary label for a file.
• Hyphens (- ) are used to join multiple primary labels.
• (Parentheses) are used to distinguish secondary labels.
• [Brackets] are used to designate dates, codes, and identifiers.
• {Braces} are used to indicate lists and metadata.

For example, if you wanted to devise a scheme for books, you should first consider what are your potential primary labels, secondary labels, dates/codes, and lists/metadata.

• Primary labels are core information that identify a work: Title, Author
• Secondary labels are supplementary information: Year, Publisher
• Dates and codes are specialized information that can be used for sorting and unique identification: Date, ISBN
• Lists and Metadata are non-essential information that can be helpful for tagging files with additional information: Edition, Series Position, Language, Translator

After identifying applicable labels, the elements should be ordered according to their importance for sorting and identification. A general template is:

[Sorting Prefix] - Primary Label (Secondary Context) [Date or ID] {Tags}.ext

• [Sorting Prefix] (Optional): Used to force a specific sort order. This is typically a date ([2024-05-27]), a project code ([PRJ-123]), or a sequential number ([001]). Placing it first ensures files are grouped logically in a file explorer.
• Primary Label (Required): The core identifying information. Use hyphens to join multiple primary terms. Think of this as the "Noun" of the file.
• (Secondary Context) (Optional): Supplementary information that modifies the primary label. Think of this as an "Adjective" or a "Sub-category."
• [Date or ID] (Optional): Key reference information like creation dates, version numbers (if not a tag), or unique identifiers (ISBN, SKU). Placing this after the primary label keeps it visible but out of the way of the main name.
• {Tags} (Optional): Non-essential, multi-value metadata. These are useful for search but don't need to be read in the primary name. Separate multiple tags with commas: {proof, needs-formatting, client-B}.

📕 Standard example:

• Comics/Manga/Shinsekai yori (2012)/
  • [2012-12-07] Shinsekai yori v2 (c05-08) [Kodansha (Oikawa Tooru)] (Japanese) [1st Ed.].cbz

📘 Doujinshi example:

• Comics/Fan/Touhou Project/Cat's Works! (2014)/
  • [2014-05-11 (RTS11)] Cat's Works! (Touhou Project) [Hinaprin (Ikuta Takanon)] (English) [Cazzeggione].cbz

📙 Excerpt example:

• Comics/Erotica/Futanari/Fantasy/AkuMiko (2012)/
  • [2012-06] Akumiko (Comic Mujin 2012-06) [Gura Nyuutou] (English) [Crimson Leo + Doujin-Moe.us].cbz

Abbreviations:

• v01 means "Volume 1"
• c23 means "Chapter 23"
• 3rd Ed. means "Third Edition"

📑 Fan Fiction example:

• Fiction/Fan/X-Men/
  • [2003-03-22] Not Myself (c01-70) (X-Men) [Princess Alexandria] (Complete) [2004-10-09].epub

New fan fiction format proposal:

• title (date) - author [status] {related work} (language) [updated].epub