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Data and Settings

FreakySneaky edited this page Oct 16, 2026 · 4 revisions

Data and Settings

Where everything is stored

Data Windows Linux
Settings %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\settings.json $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/simple_organizer/settings.json
Rules %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\rules.json $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/simple_organizer/rules.json
Undo history %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\history\ $XDG_DATA_HOME/simple_organizer/history/
Older runs (for following files) ...\history\trimmed\ .../history/trimmed/
Damaged run files ...\history\damaged\ .../history/damaged/
Staging area %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\staging\ $XDG_DATA_HOME/simple_organizer/staging/
Staging list %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\staging_manifest.json $XDG_DATA_HOME/simple_organizer/staging_manifest.json
Error report %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\error.log (older part: error.log.1) $XDG_DATA_HOME/simple_organizer/error.log (error.log.1)
Single-instance lock %APPDATA%\simple_organizer\instance.lock $XDG_DATA_HOME/simple_organizer/instance.lock
Backups of damaged files rules_corrupt_<time>.json, staging_manifest_corrupt_<time>.json next to the original same

On Linux, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME defaults to ~/.config and $XDG_DATA_HOME to ~/.local/share. If you set these variables after using v3.4.2 or older, the existing folders in the default locations keep being used so nothing gets lost — move them yourself if you want.

Tip (Windows): type %APPDATA%\simple_organizer into the Explorer address bar.

What is remembered

Last folder, theme, all scan options, staging mode, sub-categories, schedule state and interval, confirmed unusual folders, window size and maximised state, and on Windows the window position. If the monitor changed, the window is moved and shrunk to fit.

Damaged or hand-edited values (e.g. "max_depth": "x") fall back to the defaults instead of stopping the app.

error.log

Unexpected errors are written to error.log with the full technical details (and shown as a notification and in the Log tab). Please attach this file when you report a bug. It is rotated to error.log.1 when it grows beyond about 1 MB.

History files

  • One file per run: run_<number>_<time>.json, automatic runs end in _auto. The highest number is the last run. Since v3.5.0 a run also records its folder (folders).
  • Undone runs are renamed to undone_... (the newest 20 are kept).
  • A last_run.json from v3.4.0 or older is migrated automatically.

instance.lock is an empty file that keeps a second copy of the app from starting; it may be deleted while the app is closed. The *_corrupt_*.json backups are only kept so nothing is lost — delete them once you no longer need them.

Starting fresh

Close Simple Organizer and delete the simple_organizer folder shown above. Commit or revert staged files first — otherwise they stay in the deleted staging folder. Without the history folder, older runs can no longer be undone.

Safe writing

All of these files are written atomically: a crash or power cut leaves either the old or the new version, never a half-written file. Since v3.5.1 the data is flushed to disk before the old file is replaced, so it cannot be empty after a power cut either.

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