---

name: file-organization description: Organize project files and folders for maintainability and scalability. Use when structuring new projects, refactoring folder structure, or establishing conventions. Handles project structure, naming conventions, and file organization best practices. allowed-tools: Read Write Glob Bash metadata: tags: file-organization, project-structure, folder-structure, naming-conventions platforms: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

Project File Organization

When to use this skill

• New Projects: Initial folder structure design
• Project Growth: Refactoring when complexity increases
• Team Standardization: Establish consistent structure

Instructions

Step 1: React/Next.js Project Structure

src/
├── app/                      # Next.js 13+ App Router
│   ├── (auth)/               # Route groups
│   │   ├── login/
│   │   └── signup/
│   ├── (dashboard)/
│   │   ├── layout.tsx
│   │   ├── page.tsx
│   │   └── settings/
│   ├── api/                  # API routes
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   └── users/
│   └── layout.tsx
│
├── components/               # UI Components
│   ├── ui/                   # Reusable UI (Button, Input)
│   │   ├── Button/
│   │   │   ├── Button.tsx
│   │   │   ├── Button.test.tsx
│   │   │   └── index.ts
│   │   └── Input/
│   ├── layout/               # Layout components (Header, Footer)
│   ├── features/             # Feature-specific components
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   └── dashboard/
│   └── shared/               # Shared across features
│
├── lib/                      # Utilities & helpers
│   ├── utils.ts
│   ├── hooks/
│   │   ├── useAuth.ts
│   │   └── useLocalStorage.ts
│   └── api/
│       └── client.ts
│
├── store/                    # State management
│   ├── slices/
│   │   ├── authSlice.ts
│   │   └── userSlice.ts
│   └── index.ts
│
├── types/                    # TypeScript types
│   ├── api.ts
│   ├── models.ts
│   └── index.ts
│
├── config/                   # Configuration
│   ├── env.ts
│   └── constants.ts
│
└── styles/                   # Global styles
    ├── globals.css
    └── theme.ts

Step 2: Node.js/Express Backend Structure

src/
├── api/                      # API layer
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── auth.routes.ts
│   │   ├── user.routes.ts
│   │   └── index.ts
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   ├── auth.controller.ts
│   │   └── user.controller.ts
│   └── middlewares/
│       ├── auth.middleware.ts
│       ├── errorHandler.ts
│       └── validation.ts
│
├── services/                 # Business logic
│   ├── auth.service.ts
│   ├── user.service.ts
│   └── email.service.ts
│
├── repositories/             # Data access layer
│   ├── user.repository.ts
│   └── session.repository.ts
│
├── models/                   # Database models
│   ├── User.ts
│   └── Session.ts
│
├── database/                 # Database setup
│   ├── connection.ts
│   ├── migrations/
│   └── seeds/
│
├── utils/                    # Utilities
│   ├── logger.ts
│   ├── crypto.ts
│   └── validators.ts
│
├── config/                   # Configuration
│   ├── index.ts
│   ├── database.ts
│   └── env.ts
│
├── types/                    # TypeScript types
│   ├── express.d.ts
│   └── models.ts
│
├── __tests__/                # Tests
│   ├── unit/
│   ├── integration/
│   └── e2e/
│
└── index.ts                  # Entry point

Step 3: Feature-Based Structure (Large-Scale Apps)

src/
├── features/
│   ├── auth/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   │   ├── LoginForm.tsx
│   │   │   └── SignupForm.tsx
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   │   └── useAuth.ts
│   │   ├── api/
│   │   │   └── authApi.ts
│   │   ├── store/
│   │   │   └── authSlice.ts
│   │   ├── types/
│   │   │   └── auth.types.ts
│   │   └── index.ts
│   │
│   ├── products/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   ├── api/
│   │   └── types/
│   │
│   └── orders/
│
├── shared/                   # Shared across features
│   ├── components/
│   ├── hooks/
│   ├── utils/
│   └── types/
│
└── core/                     # App-wide
    ├── store/
    ├── router/
    └── config/

Step 4: Naming Conventions

File Names:

Components:       PascalCase.tsx
Hooks:            camelCase.ts        (useAuth.ts)
Utils:            camelCase.ts        (formatDate.ts)
Constants:        UPPER_SNAKE_CASE.ts (API_ENDPOINTS.ts)
Types:            camelCase.types.ts  (user.types.ts)
Tests:            *.test.ts, *.spec.ts

Folder Names:

kebab-case:       user-profile/
camelCase:        userProfile/       (optional: hooks/, utils/)
PascalCase:       UserProfile/       (optional: components/)

✅ Consistency is key (entire team uses the same rules)

Variable/Function Names:

// Components: PascalCase
const UserProfile = () => {};

// Functions: camelCase
function getUserById() {}

// Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE
const API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.example.com';

// Private: _prefix (optional)
class User {
  private _id: string;

  private _hashPassword() {}
}

// Booleans: is/has/can prefix
const isAuthenticated = true;
const hasPermission = false;
const canEdit = true;

Step 5: index.ts Barrel Files

components/ui/index.ts:

// ✅ Good example: Re-export named exports
export { Button } from './Button/Button';
export { Input } from './Input/Input';
export { Modal } from './Modal/Modal';

// Usage:
import { Button, Input } from '@/components/ui';

❌ Bad example:

// Re-export everything (impairs tree-shaking)
export * from './Button';
export * from './Input';

Output format

Project Template

my-app/
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── app/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── lib/
│   ├── types/
│   └── config/
├── tests/
├── docs/
├── scripts/
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
├── .eslintrc.json
├── .prettierrc
├── tsconfig.json
├── package.json
└── README.md

Constraints

Required Rules (MUST)

1. Consistency: Entire team uses the same rules
2. Clear Folder Names: Roles must be explicit
3. Max Depth: Recommend 5 levels or fewer

Prohibited (MUST NOT)

1. Excessive Nesting: Avoid 7+ levels of folder depth
2. Vague Names: Avoid utils2/, helpers/, misc/
3. Circular Dependencies: Prohibit A → B → A references

Best practices

1. Colocation: Keep related files close (component + styles + tests)
2. Feature-Based: Modularize by feature
3. Path Aliases: Simplify imports with @/

tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"],
      "@/components/*": ["./src/components/*"],
      "@/lib/*": ["./src/lib/*"]
    }
  }
}

Usage:

// ❌ Bad example
import { Button } from '../../../components/ui/Button';

// ✅ Good example
import { Button } from '@/components/ui';

References

• React File Structure
• Node.js Best Practices
• Clean Architecture

Metadata

Version

• Current Version: 1.0.0
• Last Updated: 2025-01-01
• Compatible Platforms: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini

Tags

#file-organization #project-structure #folder-structure #naming-conventions #utilities

Examples

Example 1: Basic usage

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Example 2: Advanced usage

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