Organize files into folders

On a Mac with NameQuick 3.0.35 or later, Quick Organize sorts a folder you already have: it reads the files, plans folders, and moves the files once you've checked the plan. The files keep their names. Without Quick Organize (on Windows, in the Mac App Store version, or with a local AI model), rename the files in Quick Rename and move them into folders yourself. For files that keep arriving, a watched folder and a Rule file each new one automatically.

1. 01Start from the folderRight-click it. If you like, say how it should be sorted.
2. 02Check the planNameQuick reads the files and plans folders. Nothing moves yet.
3. 03File itThe files move into the folders. Undo puts them back.

Replay

Which way fits#

Organize a folder with Quick Organize#

Quick Organize is on in the Mac app from namequick.app and in the Setapp version. It isn't in the Mac App Store version or the Windows app, and there is no setting to turn it on or off. It needs a cloud AI: with a local model, NameQuick says "Organize into folders needs a cloud AI. It doesn't run on a local model yet." In those cases, rename and sort by hand.

For your first run, try it on a copy of a small folder. Nothing moves until you file, and Undo puts filed files back, but a small folder is quicker to check.

1. Open it

   Right-click a folder in the sidebar and choose Organize into folders…. To organize only some files, select them, right-click one, and choose the same item. In a folder's view, it is also in the ⋯ menu.

2. Say how, if you want to

   Organize into folders

   Include subfolders adds the files in the folder's subfolders. Where the new folders go is Here, in the folder, or Another folder…. Under How should it be organized?, write what you want, for example "by client, and bank statements by year". Leave it empty, and NameQuick suggests folders from what the files say. Click Plan folders.

3. Check the plan

   NameQuick reads the files and plans folders as it goes; the counts grow while it reads. Each folder shows whether it is new or already there, how many files go in, and examples. Look inside lists a folder's files, and Change in words lets you describe a change, such as "put the payslips under Work". You can change the plan while it reads.

4. Decide on the files that need you

   Files NameQuick can't place wait under Need you, grouped by reason, such as No folder fits or two folders that both fit. Click Decide. For each group, pick a folder for all of them, leave them where they are, or go through them one by one. Files you don't decide on stay where they are.

5. File

   Click File (the button shows the number of files). The files move into the folders and keep their names. If a file with the same name is already in a target folder, the file waits under Need you; choose Keep both to file it with a number added to the end of its name.

6. Check, and undo if needed

   The result shows how many files were filed. A file that can't be moved, for example because another app has it open, is held back and stays where it was. Undo puts every filed file back where it was and removes the empty folders the plan created. The filing is also in History as one entry.

What goes to the AI#

To plan the folders, NameQuick sends each file's name and a short excerpt of its text to the AI: up to 1,500 characters, from the first three pages of a PDF. It also sends your instruction and the names of the folders already in the destination. It doesn't send the full paths. Photos without text are planned from their name and photo details such as the date taken. Files that are only in the cloud are not downloaded and wait under Need you.

What it costs#

Planning is free. Filing uses 1 credit for every 10 files that are filed, rounded up, on Managed plans and in the Self-Managed trial. The plan's footer shows the most it will use, for example "Filing uses 150 credits"; files that are held back or not filed cost nothing. With a paid Self-Managed license, filing uses no credits, and your AI provider bills you for the planning as usual. Setapp doesn't charge credits for it.

If you don't have enough credits, NameQuick offers to file as many files as your credits cover and leave the rest.

Limits#

• One plan takes up to 2,000 files. NameQuick shows how many more are in the folder; organize again after filing to plan the rest.
• NameQuick reads up to 5,000 files a day for Quick Organize.
• New folders can be up to eight levels deep. A folder that already exists is reused.

Keep filing new files the same way#

When the folder you organized is a watched folder, the result offers Keep filing new files in the folder this way. Turn it on, and new files that arrive there go into the plan's folders. Turn it off to stop.

Without Quick Organize: rename, then sort by hand#

Keep your originals and work with a few local copies. Download files that are only stored in the cloud first. Before using work documents, check that the processing route is allowed for them. See AI providers and privacy.

1. Set it up before adding files

   Settings›Renaming

   Open Settings → Renaming. Set Files processing mode to Smart Rename for mixed documents, or to a tested preset such as Incoming invoices for invoice copies. Set Apply suggestions from files you add to Review first. You can also pick the preset in Quick Rename; on Windows, Quick Rename also shows the Review first choice.

2. Add copies

   Drag the copies onto NameQuick or use Add files. On a Mac, naming starts as soon as you add files. On Windows, click Rename 3 files.

3. Review, then rename

   Compare every suggestion with its document, including spelling, the original extension such as .pdf, and conflicts with other names in the folder. When all are correct, click Rename 3 files on a Mac or Apply 3 names on Windows. The numbers on the buttons match your batch.

If something is wrong, don't rename the batch. Wait for naming to finish and click Clear: this empties the list, and the files stay in their folder. Create or improve a preset, test it, and select it before trying again with fresh copies.

Quick Rename leaves files in their folder and doesn't add them to All Files. Afterwards, create folders such as Documents/Invoices, Documents/Contracts and Documents/Receipts in Finder or File Explorer, move the renamed copies yourself, and check names, contents and locations.

Documents/
  Invoices/
  Contracts/
  Receipts/

Keep new invoices filed with a watched folder and a Rule#

For files that keep arriving, a watched folder renames each new file with a tested preset, and a Rule moves it once it is renamed. Use a tested invoice preset that puts the word Invoice into every name, and don't mix other documents into the same inbox folder.

NameQuick-Inbox-Test/
  scan_001.pdf

NameQuick-Archive-Test/
  Invoices/

NameQuick-Inbox-Test/

NameQuick-Archive-Test/
  Invoices/
    2026-09-01_Cedar_Invoice_1843.pdf

A fictional example, not a test result.

Set up a test folder#

1. Create two empty folders

   Create an empty folder NameQuick-Inbox-Test and, separately, NameQuick-Archive-Test/Invoices. The destination must be outside the watched inbox. Keep the copies outside the inbox until setup is complete. Don't start with a full Downloads folder.

2. Add the empty inbox

   Settings›Folders›Add folder

   Open Settings → Folders, click Add folder and select the empty inbox.

3. Choose the invoice preset

   In that folder's row, choose your invoice preset as the processing mode. Choosing a preset turns processing on immediately.

4. Choose Review first right away

   In the same row, choose Review first before adding files. This choice can't be changed while the mode is Off, which is why you choose the preset first on the empty folder. Changes save automatically.

Settings → Renaming → Watched-folder approval sets the default for watched folders, and each folder can override it in Folders. It is separate from Apply suggestions from files you add, which doesn't control a watched folder.

Create the move Rule#

1. Start a Rule for renamed files

   Open Rules. If you already have Rules, click + Add a Rule for renamed files under After a file is renamed. If the list is empty, click Write a Rule.

2. Switch it off first

   A new Rule starts on. Turn off the switch next to Running before changing anything else, so the Rule is saved switched off.

3. Make it run after renaming

   If you started with Write a Rule, click added in the When row and choose renamed. Name the Rule File invoices.

4. Choose the folder and the condition

   In the When row, click any watched folder and choose NameQuick-Inbox-Test. Under If, keep all, click Add a condition, choose name contains, and enter Invoice.

5. Choose the destination

   Under Then, keep move it into a folder. Click the destination, choose Choose destination folder and pick NameQuick-Archive-Test/Invoices. Empty Relative path pattern; otherwise files go into year and month subfolders such as Invoices/2026/09.

6. Check, then switch it on

   Check the Proof pane, check that no other Rule that is on could match the same inbox, and turn the switch on so it reads Running.

Valid changes save automatically. The Rule needs the folder to match and the finished name to contain Invoice. It checks the name after renaming and keeps the new name.

Test it with one copy#

A fictional example, not a test result:

This name uses the issue date 2026-09-01, the issuer Cedar and the invoice number 1843, not the due date, the recipient or the scanner's sequence number.

1. Add one copy

   With the Rule on, put one invoice copy into NameQuick-Inbox-Test.

2. Check the suggestion

   Open All Files and choose the 1 new name filter. Compare the name with the real PDF, then click Apply, or Keep original. Don't invent missing details.

3. Check the result

   Open the destination folder in Finder or File Explorer and check that the file is there, with the right name and content. Check History too.

4. Only then test more

   Only after a correct result, test two or three more copies.

This Rule follows new renames in the watched folder; it doesn't reorganize files you renamed earlier.

AI providers and privacy#

• Managed: file content is processed on cloud infrastructure in the EU and is not used for AI training.
• Self-Managed with a cloud API key (API keys): content goes directly to the provider you chose.
• Self-Managed with a local model (Ollama, LM Studio, or MLX): analysis runs on your device. Quick Organize doesn't run on a local model.

Quick Organize sends file names and short excerpts, as described in What goes to the AI. Rules use no AI: they check file properties and the finished name. See Privacy & Your Data.

FAQ#

It pairs well with Smart Rename, which names the files, and Rules, which keep new files filed automatically. Have a workflow in mind? Tell us on the roadmap.