Sort Directories by File Extension - Bash Script

#bash #linux #automation #extensions

I created this Bash script for Linux that organizes directory contents by file extension. The script generates subdirectories for each extension found and copies the files into new appropriate directories while preserving the originals. All copies go into a newly-created sorted_files directory.

I've found it very useful for having the contents separated out in this way. Music (.mp3, .ogg, and .wav) - Documents (.pdf, .docx, .odt) - Videos (.mkv, .mp4, .mov) and Images (.jpg, .png. webp), and while keeping the original directories completely untouched.

The script handles case-insensitivity (JPEG / jpeg) and files without extensions, which are common in the Linux OS. The script preserves all original file metadata and provides a summary report of the organized assets without modifying or deleting the source data.

#!/bin/bash

# Recursive File Extension Sorter
# Organizes files by their extensions into a sorted_files directory

# Default to current directory if no argument is provided
SOURCE_DIR="${1:-$(pwd)}"

# Check if source directory exists
if [ ! -d "$SOURCE_DIR" ]; then
    echo "Error: Directory '$SOURCE_DIR' does not exist."
    exit 1
fi

# Create the sorted_files directory
SORTED_DIR="$SOURCE_DIR/sorted_files"
mkdir -p "$SORTED_DIR"

# Initialize counters
declare -A extension_counts
total_files=0

# Find all files (excluding hidden ones) and process them
echo "Scanning and organizing files in '$SOURCE_DIR'..."
echo "This may take a while for large directories."
echo ""

# Find all non-hidden files
find "$SOURCE_DIR" -type f ! -path '*/\.*' | while read -r file; do
    # Skip files already in the sorted directory
    if [[ "$file" == "$SORTED_DIR"* ]]; then
        continue
    fi

    # Get the filename and extension
    filename=$(basename "$file")

    # Extract extension
    if [[ "$filename" == *.* ]]; then
        extension="${filename##*.}"
        extension=$(echo "$extension" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')  # Convert to lowercase
    else
        extension="no_extension"
    fi

    # Create directory for extension if it doesn't exist
    mkdir -p "$SORTED_DIR/$extension"

    # Copy file preserving timestamps
    cp -p "$file" "$SORTED_DIR/$extension/"

    # Update counters
    ((total_files++))
    ((extension_counts[$extension]++))

    # Show progress every 100 files
    if (( total_files % 100 == 0 )); then
        echo "Processed $total_files files..."
    fi
done

# Display summary
echo ""
echo "Sorting complete! Processed $total_files files."
echo "Files organized by extension:"

# Print extension counts in alphabetical order
for ext in $(printf '%s\n' "${!extension_counts[@]}" | sort); do
    echo "  $ext: ${extension_counts[$ext]} files"
done

echo ""
echo "All files have been copied to: $SORTED_DIR"
echo "Note: Original files remain unchanged."