Build a script to clean and categorize downloads

Here’s a Python script that will clean and categorize files in your Downloads folder based on their file types. It moves files into categorized subfolders like Images, Documents, Videos, Music, Archives, Executables, and Others.

You can run this script on Windows, macOS, or Linux with Python installed.

python
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import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path

# Define file categories
FILE_CATEGORIES = {
    "Images": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".bmp", ".tiff", ".webp", ".svg"],
    "Documents": [".pdf", ".doc", ".docx", ".txt", ".ppt", ".pptx", ".xls", ".xlsx", ".csv", ".odt"],
    "Videos": [".mp4", ".avi", ".mov", ".mkv", ".flv", ".wmv", ".webm"],
    "Music": [".mp3", ".wav", ".aac", ".ogg", ".flac", ".m4a"],
    "Archives": [".zip", ".rar", ".tar", ".gz", ".7z", ".bz2"],
    "Executables": [".exe", ".msi", ".sh", ".bat", ".apk", ".dmg"],
}

# Fallback folder for uncategorized files
DEFAULT_CATEGORY = "Others"

def get_category(file_extension):
    for category, extensions in FILE_CATEGORIES.items():
        if file_extension.lower() in extensions:
            return category
    return DEFAULT_CATEGORY

def clean_downloads(download_path=None):
    # Use default Downloads path if not specified
    if not download_path:
        download_path = str(Path.home() / "Downloads")

    if not os.path.exists(download_path):
        print(f"Path does not exist: {download_path}")
        return

    for file_name in os.listdir(download_path):
        file_path = os.path.join(download_path, file_name)
        
        if os.path.isfile(file_path):
            file_extension = Path(file_path).suffix
            category = get_category(file_extension)

            target_dir = os.path.join(download_path, category)
            os.makedirs(target_dir, exist_ok=True)

            target_path = os.path.join(target_dir, file_name)

            # Avoid overwriting by renaming duplicates
            base_name, ext = os.path.splitext(file_name)
            counter = 1
            while os.path.exists(target_path):
                new_name = f"{base_name}_{counter}{ext}"
                target_path = os.path.join(target_dir, new_name)
                counter += 1

            shutil.move(file_path, target_path)
            print(f"Moved: {file_name} → {category}/")

    print("Download folder cleanup and categorization completed.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    clean_downloads()

How to Use:

1. Save the code to a .py file (e.g., clean_downloads.py).

2. Run it with Python: python clean_downloads.py.

3. It will automatically clean and organize your Downloads folder.

Optional Customization:

• You can pass a custom path to clean_downloads("/path/to/your/folder").

• Add or edit file types in FILE_CATEGORIES as needed.

Let me know if you want a scheduled task, GUI version, or logging added.