🗂️ Boring File Tasks — Automated

Five Python scripts that handle the file chores nobody wants to do manually.

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Scripts

#	Script	What It Does
1	temp_cache_cleaner.py	Finds and removes old temp and cache files
2	nested_zip_extractor.py	Recursively extracts deeply nested zip archives
3	bulk_format_converter.py	Batch converts images, audio, and documents
4	metadata_extractor.py	Pulls metadata from media files into a CSV
5	stale_folder_purger.py	Removes empty and stale directories

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1. Stale Temp & Cache Cleaner

Scans system temp and app cache directories for files that haven't been touched in a configurable number of days. Shows a full report before deleting anything.

No dependencies — standard library only.

# Preview what would be cleaned (30-day threshold by default)
python temp_cache_cleaner.py --dry-run

# Clean files not accessed in 14 days
python temp_cache_cleaner.py --days 14

# Skip the confirmation prompt
python temp_cache_cleaner.py --days 30 --auto-confirm

# Scan custom directories instead of system defaults
python temp_cache_cleaner.py --paths /tmp /var/tmp ~/my_cache

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--days N	Remove files not accessed in N days	30
--paths	Custom directories to scan	System temp/cache paths
--dry-run	Preview without deleting	—
--auto-confirm	Skip the yes/no prompt	—
--log FILE	Path for the deletion log	cleanup_log.txt

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2. Nested Zip Extractor

Recursively extracts zip archives no matter how deep the nesting goes. Flattens everything into a single clean output folder, handles filename conflicts automatically, and generates a manifest of every extracted file.

No dependencies — standard library only.

# Extract all zips in a directory (flattened output)
python nested_zip_extractor.py /path/to/zips

# Specify a custom output folder
python nested_zip_extractor.py /path/to/zips --output /path/to/extracted

# Keep original directory structures from each zip
python nested_zip_extractor.py /path/to/zips --preserve-structure

# Preview what would be extracted
python nested_zip_extractor.py /path/to/zips --dry-run

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--output DIR	Output directory	<input>_extracted/
--preserve-structure	Keep internal zip folder structure	Flatten
--dry-run	Preview without extracting	—

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3. Bulk Format Converter

Converts files between formats in batch. Supports images (via Pillow), audio (via pydub + ffmpeg), and basic document conversions (via python-docx).

# Convert all PNGs to WebP
python bulk_format_converter.py /path/to/images --format webp

# Convert WAVs to MP3 at 192 kbps
python bulk_format_converter.py /path/to/audio --format mp3 --quality 192

# Convert JPEGs to PNG at quality 90
python bulk_format_converter.py /path/to/photos --format png --quality 90

# Convert DOCX files to TXT
python bulk_format_converter.py /path/to/docs --format txt

# Preview conversions without running them
python bulk_format_converter.py /path/to/files --format webp --dry-run

Supported Conversions

Category	Input Formats	Output Formats
Images	PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, WebP, ICO, PPM	PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, WebP
Audio	MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, WMA, M4A	MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC
Documents	DOCX, TXT	DOCX, TXT

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--format FORMAT	Target format (required)	—
--quality N	Quality (images) or bitrate in kbps (audio)	Format-specific defaults
--output DIR	Output directory	<input>/converted/
--dry-run	Preview without converting	—
--no-recursive	Only process top-level files	Scan subdirectories

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4. Media Metadata Extractor

Extracts metadata from image, audio, and video files and exports everything to a single CSV. Handles EXIF data (including GPS), audio tags, and video stream specs.

# Harvest metadata from all media in a folder
python 4_metadata_harvester.py /path/to/media

# Save to a specific CSV file
python metadata_extractor.py /path/to/media --output report.csv

# Only process images
python metadata_extractor.py /path/to/media --type images

# Process audio and video only
python metadata_extractor.py /path/to/media --type audio --type video

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--output FILE	Output CSV path	<input>/metadata.csv
--type TYPE	Filter by type: images, audio, video. Repeatable.	All types

What Gets Extracted

• Images: Dimensions, format, camera make/model, date taken, GPS coordinates, aperture, ISO, focal length, and more EXIF fields.
• Audio: Duration, bitrate, sample rate, channels, title, artist, album, genre, year, track number.
• Video: Duration, container format, video codec, resolution, FPS, color space, audio codec, subtitle tracks, and any embedded tags.

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5. Empty & Stale Folder Purger

Finds directories that are either completely empty or contain only files older than a set threshold. Reports findings before removing anything. Uses bottom-up traversal so nested empty folders are caught correctly.

No dependencies — standard library only.

# Scan with default 90-day stale threshold
python stale_folder_purger.py /path/to/scan

# Use a 60-day threshold
python stale_folder_purger.py /path/to/scan --days 60

# Dry run — see what would be removed
python stale_folder_purger.py /path/to/scan --dry-run

# Protect specific directories from deletion
python stale_folder_purger.py /path/to/scan --protect /path/to/important --protect /other/path

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--days N	Stale threshold in days	90
--dry-run	Preview without deleting	—
--auto-confirm	Skip the yes/no prompt	—
--protect PATH	Additional protected paths. Repeatable.	System paths only
--log FILE	Deletion log path	purge_log.txt

System directories (like /usr, /var, C:\Windows) are always protected and can never be targeted.

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Dependencies

Scripts 1, 2, and 5 use only the Python standard library — no installs needed.

Scripts 3 and 4 have external dependencies. Install them all as needed:

# Script 3 — Bulk Format Converter
pip install pillow pydub python-docx ffmpeg

# Script 4 — Media Metadata Extractor
pip install pillow piexif mutagen ffmpeg

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