Every 15 minutes

File new uploads by year and month

Anything dropped in your inbox folder is moved into a dated archive folder, created when needed.

Runs: Every 15 minutes
Apps: Dropbox
AI: Not needed
Access: files.metadata.read, files.content.write

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: whenever a file lands in /Inbox in Dropbox, move it to /Archive/<year>/<month> based on when it was added, creating the folder if it doesn't exist.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

Add to ChatGPT Add to Claude

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A shared Dropbox inbox folder is where everything lands: receipts from a phone camera, client uploads, exports from other tools. Within a month it holds hundreds of unsorted files, and finding last March's invoice means scrolling through everything. Sorting by hand is the sort of task that nobody wants to do and everyone benefits from, so it gets done once a year or never.

Every 15 minutes the automation looks for new files in your inbox folder, works out the right destination based on the date or file type, creates the folder if it does not exist, and moves the file there. By the time you next look, your files are already in folders such as 2026/03 or PDFs.

Bookkeepers, photographers, small agencies and anyone who receives files from many sources will appreciate it.

What you get out of it

Files are findable when needed
With year and month folders, you can open last March directly. Finding a document takes seconds, and nobody has to remember what it was called or who uploaded it, which is how files usually go missing.
The inbox stays empty
New files are moved out as they arrive, so the inbox only ever shows what has just come in. That makes it obvious when something unusual arrives, because it is the only thing in the folder.
Consistent structure for the team
Everyone's files end up in the same folder pattern, so colleagues know where to look. Shared folders with a predictable structure are much easier to work in than ones that reflect each person's own habits.
Month-end and tax time are easier
Receipts and invoices already sorted by month can be handed to an accountant in minutes. The scramble to find paperwork at the deadline is gone, along with the risk of a missing document.
No manual filing habit to maintain
Filing by hand is a habit that lapses in busy weeks. A scheduled automation keeps working during the weeks when nobody has time for it, which are exactly the weeks when files pile up fastest.

How it works

What happens, step by step

Every 15 minutes, ClickRuntime checks your Dropbox folder for newly added files.
For each one it works out the matching year and month folder, such as 2026/10.
If that folder doesn't exist yet, it creates it.
The file is moved into it.

Before it runs live

Connect Dropbox

What you get

RunsEvery 15 minutes

File new uploads by year and monthtoday, 9:00Succeeded

Dropbox · /ArchiveMoved acme-invoice-1042.pdf → /Archive/2026/10/

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

Your own rules
Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.
Any number of apps
One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.
AI where it helps
Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.
On a schedule or on each event
Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
Add an AI step, for example to summarize, sort or draft a reply
Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
Combine it with other Dropbox steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.

auto_organise_new_files_into_folders.pyexample

from datetime import datetime
from clickruntime import on_trigger, report_fetched, state, http, credentials

API = "https://api.dropboxapi.com/2/files"

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    auth = {"Authorization": "Bearer " + credentials.connection("dropbox", "main")}
    cursor = state.get("cursor") or http.post(f"{API}/list_folder/get_latest_cursor", headers=auth, json={"path": "/Inbox"}).json()["cursor"]
    page = http.post(f"{API}/list_folder/continue", headers=auth, json={"cursor": cursor}).json()
    files = [e for e in page["entries"] if e[".tag"] == "file"]
    report_fetched(len(files))
    if not files:
        return {"summary": "Nothing new in /Inbox"}
    for f in files:
        added = datetime.fromisoformat(f["server_modified"].replace("Z", "+00:00"))
        folder = f"/Archive/{added:%Y}/{added:%m}"
        resp = http.post(f"{API}/create_folder_v2", headers=auth, json={"path": folder, "autorename": False})
        if resp.status_code not in (200, 409):  # 409: folder already exists
            resp.raise_for_status()
        http.post(f"{API}/move_v2", headers=auth, json={"from_path": f["path_lower"], "to_path": f"{folder}/{f['name']}", "autorename": True}).raise_for_status()
    state.set("cursor", page["cursor"])
    return {"moved": len(files)}

FAQ

Common questions

How does it decide which folder a file goes in?

It uses a rule you choose, such as the file's modified date for year and month folders, or its extension for folders such as PDFs and Images. Describe the structure you want and your AI assistant sets it up for approval.

What if a file with the same name already exists in the destination?

It can rename the new file by adding a number or a timestamp, or skip it, depending on the setting. Pick the option that fits your files, so no existing document is overwritten by accident.

Does it touch files that are already organized?

No. It only looks at the inbox folder you choose and moves files out of it. Existing folders and their contents are left exactly as they are, so a structure you built by hand is never rearranged.

What permissions does it need?

files.metadata.read, files.content.write. Nothing else in your accounts is used.

Does it need AI?

No. It runs without AI, so it doesn't use your plan's AI allowance.

How many runs does it use?

One run each time it checks. Checks that find nothing new and stop right away aren't counted.

Can I change how it works?

Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Every 15 minutes