Your photos folder is a crime scene.

Here's the thing nobody tells you

Your photos are already sitting on your computer. Claude Code can go right into that folder and clean up the whole mess for you. No apps, no subscriptions, no dragging 3,000 files around by hand. Just VS Code, set up the same way as Lesson 2.

Do it in 5 steps

Five minutes of you, then Claude does the rest

Tap any black box to copy it.

1. Open VS Code

   Same trick as Lesson 2, just pointed at your photos. Not set up yet? Start with Lesson 1 and Lesson 2.

2. Put the whole trip in one folder

   Get every photo, video and screenshot from the trip into one folder on your computer. Call it something like Phuket Trip and pop it on your Desktop. On iPhone, AirDrop the whole trip to your Mac in one go.

3. Drag the folder onto VS Code

   Grab your Phuket Trip folder and drag it onto the VS Code window. Your photos show up in the left sidebar. Then click the ✱ spark icon to open Claude.

   Why open the folder?

   Because now Claude is inside it. No file paths, no typing. It can see every photo and move them around for you.

4. Paste the prompt and fill in the blanks

   Change the trip details to yours. A rough day plan is enough: Day 1 Old Town, Day 2 beach club, Day 3 island hopping. For the Folder line, just type the folder name.

   Paste this prompt Copy

   I just came back from a trip and my photos and videos are a mess. Please organize them for me.
   
   Folder: [the name of your folder, e.g. Desktop/Phuket Trip]
   My trip: [destination], [start date] to [end date]. Rough plan: Day 1 [what you did], Day 2 [what you did], Day 3 [what you did], and so on.
   
   Here is exactly how I want it organized:
   1. Go through every file in the folder: photos, videos, and screenshots.
   2. Read the date taken on each file. If the file has a location saved in it, read that too.
   3. Create one folder per day, named so the folders sort in order: "2026-08-12 - Day 1 - Phuket Old Town".
   4. Inside each day folder, create three subfolders: "Photos", "Videos", and "Screenshots". Move each file into the right one based on its file type.
   5. Rename every file so it sorts perfectly in time order, like this: "2026-08-12 - Phuket Old Town - 001", "2026-08-12 - Phuket Old Town - 002", and so on. Keep the original file extension. Use the location in the name when you know it, otherwise use my day plan above.
   6. Put any clearly blurry or accidental shots into one folder called "Maybe Delete". Do not delete anything yourself.
   7. Never delete or overwrite any file. Only rename and move.
   8. When you are done, show me a summary of how many files went where.
   
   If you are not sure which day or place a file belongs to, ask me instead of guessing.

   Watch the folders appear in the sidebar, live. Then go make your coffee.

5. Check the Maybe Delete pile

   When it's done, Claude shows you a summary of how many files went where. Open the Maybe Delete folder, keep what you love, bin the rest. You make that call. Never Claude.

Before vs after

Same 3,000 photos. Totally different life.

What it actually does

No code. It just reads your photos.

"Your photos folder is a crime scene. Claude can fix it in minutes."Wendy, your AI Bestie

Keep this prompt. Every holiday from now on, it's one paste and done.