Actions

Actions define what happens to files that match your filters. Each rule can have one or more actions that execute in order.

Available actions

action	description
move	Move files to a new location
copy	Copy files with a new name in the same directory
rename	Rename files in place
delete	Permanently delete files
trash	Move files to system trash
log	Log a message (for debugging/testing)

Action syntax

Actions are defined as a list under the actions key:

rules:
  - name: Example Rule
    locations: ~/Downloads
    actions:
      - move: ~/Documents
      - log: "Moved ${name}"

Multiple actions

Actions execute in order. This allows chaining operations:

actions:
  - copy: "${name}_backup${ext}"   # First, create a backup copy
  - move: ~/Documents              # Then, move the original
  - log: "Processed ${name}"

Template variables

Most actions support template variables in paths and messages:

variable	description
`${name}`	Filename without extension
`${ext}`	File extension (with dot)
`%Y`	Current year (4 digits)
`%m`	Current month (01-12)
`%d`	Current day (01-31)
`%H`	Current hour (00-23)
`%M`	Current minute (00-59)
`%S`	Current second (00-59)

See Templates for full details.

Conflict handling

Actions that create files (move, copy, rename) support conflict handling:

actions:
  - move:
      dest: ~/Documents
      on_conflict: skip  # Don't move if destination exists

mode	behavior
`rename_with_suffix`	Add numeric suffix (file_2.txt, file_3.txt, etc.)
`skip`	Don’t move/copy if destination exists
`overwrite`	Replace existing file

Default is rename_with_suffix.

Dry run mode

Use --dry-run to preview actions without executing them:

autotidy run --dry-run

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