Guide

Naming files so future you actually understands them

A file name is a message to a future version of yourself who will not remember the context you have right now, and most naming habits fail that future reader.

Dates belong at the front, in order

A date written as year-month-day at the start of a file name sorts correctly in any file browser without extra effort, unlike a date written at the end or in a different order.

Avoid relying on memory-dependent words

Names like final, latest, or updated only mean something at the moment they are written. A year later, nothing distinguishes one final from the next one, because the context that made the word meaningful is gone.

Consistency matters more than cleverness

A simple, repeated naming pattern across many files is far more useful than a perfect name on any single file, because it lets you predict and search for names you have not even looked at yet.

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