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File Organization Approach

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webcubus avatar
webcubus avatar
As we collect hundreds of files, it's easy to get lost in a pile of data. I've recently published a blog post detailing my file organization strategy along with some helpful scripts I've written to manage it all: https://blog.briangweber.com/file-organization/

I also added a follow-up post about my experience moving to a Synology NAS: https://blog.briangweber.com/nas-transition/

If you're interested, please give them a read. I'd love to share notes and see if we can keep our filesystem sanity intact.
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Razvy avatar
Razvy avatar
Pretty cool! It's funny how my file system started... When I very first started, I only organized by date... This worked well for like a month, but then I started forgetting dates I did objects... "Was North America Nebula on the 7th or the 8th?" led to a lot of wasted time.

So then I started organizing it by object, with the date right after. And that's worked out well... Until...

I got more gear! I have 4 cameras, and 4 telescopes which I swap around fairly frequently... So Now I start by camera... so ASI2600, ASI533MM, 585MC, and Nikon D750 are the base folders.... then object, then date... This seemed like a great idea at the time, as it would help me separate my calibration frames and prevent mixing... But now I'm leaning back towards just going by object and keeping the camera/telescope in the same header as the date in subfolder... Always room for improvement.

I have 8tb in my home PC and it's just starting to get filled up, I'm looking at NAS solutions. I've built PC's for the last 25 years, but I'm a newbie when it comes to networking/servers... Is paying for a Synology worth it, or should I follow something like this guide: https://blog.briancmoses.com/2024/11/diy-nas-2025-edition.html ...
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webcubus avatar
webcubus avatar
Yeah, interesting how it evolves. I'm considering grabbing another camera soon, so I'm trying to figure out how that will work with my scripting and everything.

On the NAS purchase, I'm a software developer and have built PCs in the past, but I ended up going with the Synology because I just didn't want another project. I got it on sale, so it was like $500, which is not too bad. It was super easy to set up and has been working great, so I have no regrets.
Médéric Hébert avatar
Médéric Hébert avatar
I've changed my naming convention a few times, but I've been using this for a while: target name/type (light, dark, etc)/filter/date-12h/exposure time/camera_telescope_####.fits
It's been working fine for me. A lot of sub folder, but easy to tell which is what.

I'll build my own NAS in the future to handle all those files.
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webcubus avatar
webcubus avatar
Oh, that's a good call I should add in my file naming convention.

Right now it's:
<target>/<date>/<type>/<targetsmileexposure time in seconds>_SESSION_<date in YYYY-MM-DD>_FILTER_<filter>_TEMP_<camera temp in C>_####.xisf

I've only got 1 scope and 1 camera at the moment, but I'm thinking about adding a second camera which will need to be captured somewhere in here.