Sort 400 PDFs into folders
A user had Claude Cowork read 400 PDF files and sort them into different folders.
Done withClaude Cowork
- What they did
- The user put all the PDFs in one local folder, selected that folder in Claude Cowork, and gave a plain-language instruction saying how many files were there, what text to look for, and which matching files should be moved into one or more subfolders. They said Cowork handled text-based PDFs, could also group related PDFs for merging, and after sorting they could ask it to generate an XLSX index showing what went where.
- How it went
- They reported Cowork sorted 400 PDFs without trouble; in the more detailed follow-up they described the same workflow on 382 files. The source gives no measured accuracy, speed, or examples of mistakes, only that it worked for text rather than image content.
- Worth knowing
- Their main tip was to be very explicit in the prompt, like briefing a smart new coworker; they only made a reusable skill if it was something they wanted to repeat.
Try it yourself with Claude Cowork
Read the PDFs in [folder path] and sort them into subfolders by [criteria, e.g. client, document type, or year]. First show me the proposed folder names and a sample of how files would be assigned, and wait for my OK. Then move the files, never delete anything, and finish with a list of any files you couldn't classify.
Want help getting this working? Join the Vibe Coding Academy ↗ Run by Alex Finn, who also runs this site.
Source: Reddit · Jul 1, 2026
Related use cases
Summarize email and prep briefings from your phone
A Fortune writer used Claude Dispatch with Cowork to summarize and pick out important emails, plus recurring morning briefings and meeting prep from the calendar.
Reconcile bank statements with invoices
Cowork cleaned vendor names, categorized expenses, matched invoices to transactions, flagged missing ones, built an Excel file and renamed invoice files.
Check hotel reservations and guest check-ins on Booking.com
A small-hotel owner in Riga runs scheduled Cowork tasks that use Claude in Chrome to check reservations and verify check-ins in the Booking.com admin panel.
Run a solo company with eight agent departments
A founder set up CEO, CFO, COO, lawyer, accountant, marketing, CTO, and improver agents that share memory and consult each other.
Run shopping, trip planning and project tracking with a dot
A reviewer's dot flagged a failed payment unprompted but only read and reported it; a shopping site blocked it and follow-through was unfinished.
Run multi-step tasks with model switching
@dani_avila7 tested Perplexity Computer on multiple tasks, where it picked Gemini 3 Flash for some steps and Opus 4.6 for code writing.
Get 5 like this every morning
The best things people got an AI agent to do, each with the prompt to try it.