File Organization Rules

Filename Theory

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}.

💾 Media

Collections

💾 Media/
- 🎵 Audio/ .flac .mp3 .midi — for listening
- 📘 Books/ .cbz .epub .pdf — for reading
- 🎮 Games/ .bin .exe .iso — for playing
- 📷 Pictures/ .jpg .png .webp — for looking
- 🎬 Videos/ .mkv .mp4 — for watching

Common formats

Type	Format
📘 Book	`title (date) - author [edition].epub`
💬 Comic	`[date] title [author] (edition).cbz`
🎮 Game	`platform`/`title (year)`/`title (year) (version).bin`
📷 Image	`[platform] artist - date - image.webp`
💿 Album	`title (date) [serial]`/`disc-track - song.flac`
🎬 Movie	`title (year)`/`title (year) - edition (encoding).mkv`
📺 Episode	`title (year)`/`season`/`title (year) - season episode - name (encoding).mkv`

📘 Books

Type	Format
📘 Book	`title (date) [author] (edition).epub`

💬 Comics

Sub-Categories

💬 Comics/
- ✍️ Collection/ — organized by author
- 🍆 Erotica/ — organized by porn genre
- 🧐 Fan/ — organized by fandom
- ⬅️ Manga/ — right-to-left format
- ⬇️ Webcomics/ — top-to-bottom format
- ➡️ Western/ — left-to-right format

Comic formats

Type	Format
📔 Basic	`title (year)`/`title volume.cbz`
📕 Standard	`[date] title volume [author] (edition).cbz`
📗 Serialized	`[date] title volume (chapters) [publisher (author)] (language) [edition].cbz`
📘 Doujinshi	`[date (event)] title volume (related work) [circle (author)] (language) [source].cbz`
📙 Excerpt	`[date (event)] title volume (excerpted work) [publisher (author)] (language) [source].cbz`

📕 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"

📕 Fiction

Sub-Categories

📕 Fiction/
- ✍️ Collection/ — organized by author
- 🧐 Fan/ — organized by fandom
- 📖 Novels/ — long story format
- ✒️ Poetry/ — verse format
- 🗣️ Plays/ — scripted drama format
- 📝 Shorts/ — short story format

Fiction formats

Type	Format
📁 Folder	`title (year) - author/`
📖 Novel	`Order# - Title (OriginalYear) - Author [Edition] - EdAuthor (EdYear) - Part# {Tags}.ext`
📔 Published	`title volume (year) [author] (language) [edition].epub`
📑 Fan Fiction	`[date] title (chapters) (related work) [author] (status) (language) [updated].epub`

📑 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

📚 Non-Fiction

Sub-Categories

Fiction Folder

 Fiction
 ├─ Collection
+│  └─ (Author)
 │
 ├─ Fan
+│  └─ (Work)
-│     └─ title (year) [author]
-│        └─ [published] title [author] (content) [updated].epub
 │
 └─ Original
+   └─ (Genre)

Literature/
- Novels/Title/.../File
- Indie/
  - Fan/Derived Work/.../File
  - Original/Author/.../File
Other/
- Textbooks/Subject/.../File
- Artbooks/Title/.../File
- Guidebooks/Title/.../File
- Magazines/Title/.../File

Files

Book format
- [Date] Title [Author] (Edition).ext
Advanced format
- [Date (Event)] Title Volume (Related Work) [Publisher (Author)] (Language) [Edition].ext

Preferred types:

.cbz for comics.
.epub for literature.

Examples

Books/Comics/General/Manga/Shinsekai yori (2012)/
- [2012-12-07] Shinsekai yori v2 (c05-08) [Kodansha (Oikawa Tooru)] (Japanese) [1st Ed.].cbz
Books/Literature/Indie/Fan/X-Men/
- [2003-03-22] Not Myself (c01-70) (X-Men) [Princess Alexandria] (Complete) [2004-10-09].epub

🎮 Games

Folders

Games/
- Platform/
  - Title (Year)/.../File

Files

Game format
- Title (Region) [Edition].ext
Advanced format
- [Date] Title [Developer] (Region) [Edition].ext

Preferred types:

.zip for games over 1 GB in size
.bin for Cartridge ROMs
.iso for Disc ROMs

🖼️ Images

Type	Format
📷 Image	`[source] artist - date - image.png`

🎨 Art

🎨 Art/
- 🧑‍🎨 Artist/ — organized by artist
- 👥 Fan/ — organized by series
- 🎭 Subject/ — organized by subject
- 💡 Theme/ — organized by theme

Art organization

If an artwork subject is known to be from a specific series, it should be filed under Fan/.

When subjects are represented from multiple unrelated series, it would better fit another category.

Else if drawn by a notable artist, it should be filed under Artist/ .
- If a subject is an original character, artworks drawn by other artists may be filed under the owner's Artist folder.
Else if there is a strong thematic presence, it should be filed under Theme/.
Else it should be filed under Subject/ according to the depicted elements.

Fixing file names:

The basic elements of art metadata: Artist name, artwork Title, publication Date, platform Source.
Additional info may include platform data: platform name, artist id, post id, image id.
When possible, try to format the file name:
- Artist (Date) Title [Source] (artistID_postID_imageID).png
When information is not known, metadata fields may be omitted. Common source formats:
- Pixiv
  - source: postID_imageID.png
  - download: [pixiv] artistID_postID_imageID - Artist - Title.png
  - recommended: Artist - Title [pixiv] (artistID_postID_imageID).png
- Twitter
  - source: imageID.jpg
  - download: [twitter] artistID - Date - postID - imageID.jpg
  - recommended: artistID (Date) - [twitter] (artistID_postID_imageID).jpg
- Bluesky
  - source: imageID.jpg
  - download: Artist [bsky] (artistID_postID_imageID).jpg
- Hentai Foundry
  - source: artistID-postID-Title.png
  - recommended: artistID - Title [Hentai Foundry] (postID).png

📸 Photos

📸 Photos/
- Dolls — pictures of dolls
- Figures — organized by series
- Food — pictures of food
- People — pictures of people
- Cosplay — people organized by series

📥 Categorized

📥 Categorized
- Cards

Sorting

Art goes in Art/
- Art known by Artist goes in Artist/<Artist>/
- Art known by a parodied Series goes in Subject/<Series>
- Art obtained in a sortable format go in Sorted/
Video game art goes in Games/<Title> (<Year>)/
Other image types go in Type/<Image Type>/.

File Names

General image format
- [source] creator - date - subject.ext
Twitter images
- [twitter] username—date—post ##—image id.ext
Pixiv images
- [pixiv] user id_post ##_page # - username - subject.ext
Fanbox images
- fanbox username post id_page #.ext

🎵 Music

Type	Format
💿 Album	`title (date) [serial]`/`disc-track - song.flac`

Tag	Field	Prescription
Album*	ALBUM	Title of the album this track is from.
Album Artist*	ALBUMARTIST	Primary artists of the album. Named as they are credited. If there is no primary artist, "Various Artists" may be listed instead.
Year	YEAR	Year this album was released. Can be derived from date, so this field may be omitted when full date is already known. Format: `YYYY`
Date*	DATE	Date this album was released. Format: `YYYY-MM-DD`
Original Date	ORIGINALDATE	Date the album was first released. Used to distinguish the original release from later re-releases of an album. Format: `YYYY-MM-DD`
Catalog Number	CATALOGNUMBER	The catalog number of the album or disc containing this track.
Genre	GENRE	The music genres this album belongs to.

Tag	Field	Prescription
Title*	TITLE	Title of this track.
Disc	DISCNUMBER	Number of the disc containing this track. Format: single-digit number `#` (and/or letter for multi-side releases)
Track*	TRACKNUMBER	Number of this track on the disc. Format: double-digit number `##`
Artist*	ARTIST	Artists performing this track. Use standardized names. If the performers aren't credited, the composer may be listed instead.
Composer	COMPOSER	Composer who wrote the music in this track. Use standardized names. If the performing artist is also the writer of the track, this field may be omitted.
Lyricist	LYRICIST	Lyricist who wrote the lyrics in this track. Use standardized names.
Recording Date	RECORDINGDATE	Date this track was recorded. Used to distinguish the date of track recording from the album release. Format: `YYYY-MM-DD`

🎶 Audio

Sub-Categories

📼 Mixes/ — organized by genre
🎤 Original/ — organized by artist
🎻 Soundtrack/ — organized by work

Album Format

Album - Artist (Date) [Catalog #]/
  Disc #-Track # - Artist - Song.flac
  Disc #-Track # - Artist - Song.lrc
  Disc # - Label.cue
  Disc # - Label.log
  Folder.jpg
  Image - Subject.jpg

Example Mix

Mixes/Acid Jazz/Acid Jazz Classics Volume 1 (2014-03-06) [IRM-1161]/
    01 - Jestofunk - The Ghetto.flac
    01 - Jestofunk - The Ghetto.lrc
    02 - Sara Jane Morris - Ever Gonna Make It.flac
    02 - Sara Jane Morris - Ever Gonna Make It.lrc
    ...
    Disc - Acid Jazz Classics Volume 1.cue
    Disc - Acid Jazz Classics Volume 1.log
    Folder.jpg
    Image - Back.jpg

Example Original Album

Original/Naglfar/Sheol (2003-03-24) [NEWH005-2]/
    01 - I Am Vengeance.flac
    01 - I Am Vengeance.lrc
    02 - Black God Aftermath.flac
    02 - Black God Aftermath.lrc
    ...
    Disc - Sheol.cue
    Disc - Sheol.log
    Folder.jpg
    Image - Back.jpg
    Image - Book p01-16.jpg
    Image - Book p02-03.jpg
    ...
    Image - Disc.jpg

Example Soundtrack

Soundtrack/MahoAko/Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete (2024-03-27) [LACA-19031~2]/
    1-01 - Trans-Magia!.flac
    1-02 - Mahou Shoujo Tres Magia.flac
    ...
    2-01 - Akogare no Mahou Shoujo.flac
    2-02 - L-O-V-E-ly Loco ♡.flac
    2-02 - L-O-V-E-ly Loco ♡.lrc
    ...
    Disc 1 - LACA-19031.cue
    Disc 1 - LACA-19031.log
    Disc 2 - LACA-19032.cue
    Disc 2 - LACA-19032.log
    Image - Back.jpg
    Image - Book.jpg
    Image - Disc 1.jpg
    Image - Disc 2.jpg
    Image - Inlay.jpg
    Image - Spinecard.jpg

Album - Artist (Date) [Catalog #]/ Album folder (Artist may be omitted when implied or when there is no primary artist)
- Disc #-Track # - Artist - Song.flac Song file (Artist omitted outside of Mixes folder)
- Disc #-Track # - Artist - Song.lrc Lyrics file
- Disc # - Label.cue Track list
- Disc # - Label.log Data log
- Folder.jpg Album cover
- Image - Subject.jpg Additional images

Audio subfolders

Audio
├─ Original
│  └─ (Artist)
│     └─ (Album)
│        ├─ (Track).flac
│        └─ (Track).lrc
└─ Soundtrack
   └─ (Work)
      └─ (Album)
         ├─ (Track).flac
         └─ (Track).lrc

Filenames

Album folder
- Title [Artist] (Date) [Catalog_#]/
Track file
- Disc_#-Track# - Name.flac

Scores subfolders

Scores
├─ Original
└─ Transcriptions
   └─ (Work)
      └─ (Score).mscz

Filenames

Work folder
- Work/Artist - Title/
Score file
- Title.mscz

🎬 Videos

Folders

Adult/ — Porn
- Anime/Title (Year)/Season #/Title (Year) - S##E## - Encoding.mkv — Hentai
- JAV/Code/Code-###/Code-### - Encoding.mp4 — Japanese Adult Videos
- Videos/Studio/Season Year/Title (Date)/Title (Date) [Actors] (Encoding).mp4 — Adult Videos
Anime/ — Animated
- Adult/Title (Year)/Video.mkv — Porn
- BD-DVD/Title (Year)/Disc.iso — Video Discs
- Movies/Title (Year)/Movie.mkv — Standalone
- Series/Title (Year)/Season #/Episode.mkv — Episodic
Film/ — Live Action
- Adult/ — Porn
  - JAV/Code (Label)/Code-###/Video.mp4 — Japanese Adult Videos
- BD-DVD/Title (Year)/Disc.iso — Video Discs
- Movies/Title (Year)/Movie.mp4 — Standalone
- Series/Title (Year)/Season #/Episode.mp4 — Episodic
Music/ — Music Videos
- Artist/Artist/Song (Date) - Artist - Source [ID] (Encoding).mp4
- Soundtrack/Work/Song (Date) - Artist - Source [ID] (Encoding).mp4
Other/ — Categorized
- Adult/Type/Video.mp4 — Porn
- Crime/ — Criminal and Police Activity
- Comedy/ — Comedy Performances
- Educational/ — Documentaries and Education
- Fandom/ — Series-specific short videos
- Fashion/ — People wearing Outfits
- Gaming/ — Gameplay and Reviews
- Graphic/ — NSFL content
- Memes/ — Funny short videos
- Music/ — Musical Performances
- Political/ — Political campaigning & events
- Short Films/ — Small film features
- Sports/ — Sporting events
- Trailers/ — Trailers & Advertisements
- War/ — Military Conflict
- YouTube/ — Assorted videos from specific YouTubers

Files

Movie format
- Title (Year) - Edition (Encoding).ext
- Title (Year) - Edition (Language Resolution Source Video Audio).ext
Episode format
- Title (Year) - Season Episode - Name (Encoding).ext

Shining Force

Audio

Audio/

Doujin - Unofficial works
Drama - Voiced stories
Fandisc - Bonus discs
Game - In-game soundtracks
Music - Disc album soundtracks

Subfolder contents

[YYYY-MM-DD] Album_name [Catalog_#] (Format)/

Disc_#-Track_## - Track_name.flac
Image_## - Description.jpg
Catalog_## - Description.log
Folder.jpg

Example

Audio/
  Drama/
      [2006-01-26] Shining Tears Drama CD Vol. 1 Side Yin [WM-0520~0521] (FLAC+ISO)/
            1-01 - Prologue ~Kioku~ Memories.flac
            2-01 - #06 ~Hyoukai~ Tears.flac
            2-EX - Data Track.iso
            img01 - Cover.jpg
            disc01 - WM-0520.log
            disc02 - WM-0521.log
            Folder.jpg

Overview

 Media
 │
 ├─ Books
 │  ├─ Comics
-│  │  └─ ...  [date] title [author] (edition).cbz
 │  ├─ Fiction
-│  │  └─ ...  title (date) [author] (edition).epub
 │  └─ Non-Fiction
-│     └─ ...  title (date) [author] (edition) [publisher].pdf
 │
 ├─ Games
+│  └─ (Platform)
-│     └─ ...  title (date) (version).bin
 │
 ├─ Music
 │  ├─ Audio
-│  │  └─ ... title [artist] (date) [catalog#]/
-│  │        └─ disc#-track# - name.flac
 │  ├─ Scores
 │  └─ Videos
 │
 └─ Videos
    ├─ Movies
-   │  └─ ... Title (Year) [Edition] (Encoding).ext
    └─ Series
-      └─ ... Title (Year) - Season Episode - Name (Encoding).ext

Cards