Cross-Device AI File Organizer with Preview and Approval Workflow
People accumulate thousands of files across laptops, external drives, and cloud storage with no organization. AI file sorters exist but all work on a single device and automatically move files without asking. An HN user requested an AI assistant that scans files across multiple devices, proposes an organization plan with before/after preview, and only executes after human approval. The 'undo-friendly' requirement rules out every existing tool.
The cross-device part is the hard problem. Use Syncthing or a lightweight agent on each device that indexes file metadata (name, type, size, creation date, content hash) without moving anything. The AI proposes an organization plan based on the unified index. The user reviews a before/after tree view and approves. Only then do files move. The approval workflow is what differentiates this from every 'auto-sort' tool that terrifies users who fear losing files.
landscape (4 existing solutions)
AI file organizers in 2026 all work on single devices and single folders. None scans across multiple machines, proposes a unified organization scheme, and waits for human approval before moving anything. The cross-device gap is fundamental: your Downloads folder on your laptop, your project files on your desktop, and your phone photos all need to be organized together, not in isolation. AI File Sorter's preview workflow is the right UX pattern but needs cross-device reach.