Build a tool to rank your top-used files

To build a tool that ranks your top-used files, you’d need to monitor which files are accessed most frequently and create a ranking system based on usage patterns. Here’s an outline for a simple tool that does this, assuming you’re working with a local file system (or similar environment). This can be implemented in Python, for example.

Overview:

1. Track file usage: Monitor file access time, frequency, and other metrics.

2. Store data: Save usage statistics (like file paths and access counts).

3. Rank files: Sort files based on frequency of access or recency.

4. Display results: Provide a sorted list of top-used files.

Example Python Script

python
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import os
import time
import json
from collections import defaultdict

class FileTracker:
    def __init__(self, folder_path):
        self.folder_path = folder_path
        self.stats_file = 'file_usage.json'
        self.load_stats()

    def load_stats(self):
        """Load the existing file usage stats or initialize if not present."""
        if os.path.exists(self.stats_file):
            with open(self.stats_file, 'r') as f:
                self.stats = json.load(f)
        else:
            self.stats = defaultdict(lambda: {'count': 0, 'last_access': 0})

    def update_file_usage(self, file_path):
        """Update the usage stats for a given file."""
        file_path = os.path.abspath(file_path)
        if os.path.exists(file_path):
            self.stats[file_path]['count'] += 1
            self.stats[file_path]['last_access'] = time.time()
            self.save_stats()

    def save_stats(self):
        """Save the stats to a JSON file."""
        with open(self.stats_file, 'w') as f:
            json.dump(self.stats, f, indent=4)

    def get_top_files(self, top_n=10):
        """Get the top N most used files sorted by access count."""
        sorted_files = sorted(self.stats.items(), key=lambda x: x[1]['count'], reverse=True)
        return sorted_files[:top_n]

    def display_top_files(self, top_n=10):
        """Display the top N files."""
        top_files = self.get_top_files(top_n)
        print(f"Top {top_n} most used files:")
        for idx, (file, stats) in enumerate(top_files, 1):
            print(f"{idx}. {file} - Access count: {stats['count']}, Last accessed: {time.ctime(stats['last_access'])}")

    def track_files_in_directory(self):
        """Track all files in the directory."""
        for root, dirs, files in os.walk(self.folder_path):
            for file in files:
                self.update_file_usage(os.path.join(root, file))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    folder_to_track = '/path/to/your/directory'  # Replace with your folder path
    tracker = FileTracker(folder_to_track)
    
    # Track files in directory (this will run only once to capture initial usage)
    tracker.track_files_in_directory()

    # Optionally, display top files
    tracker.display_top_files(10)

Key Components:

1. FileTracker class: The core of the tool, handles tracking file usage.

   • load_stats(): Loads the existing usage stats or initializes new data if none exist.

   • update_file_usage(): Updates the access count and last access time for a given file.

   • get_top_files(): Retrieves the top files by access count.

   • save_stats(): Saves the stats to a JSON file.

   • display_top_files(): Prints the most accessed files.

2. Directory Traversal: The method track_files_in_directory() allows the tool to scan through the folder and track file usage. You can modify it to track specific events (e.g., opening a file, modifying a file, etc.).

3. JSON for Persistence: The tool saves the statistics to a file_usage.json file so it can persist data across runs.

4. Customization: The folder_to_track can be customized to any directory you want to monitor.

Enhancements:

• User Interaction: You can add a CLI (Command Line Interface) to allow users to query top files, reset stats, or modify settings.

• File Metadata: Include more metadata, like file size or type, for deeper analysis.

• Real-time Monitoring: Use filesystem event watchers (e.g., watchdog library in Python) to update file usage stats as users interact with files in real time.

This tool gives you a basic way to rank and monitor the files you interact with the most! Would you like to dive into specific parts of the implementation?