Bulk Move: The Safe Way to Reorganize Files in Your Browser

Deleting files is permanent. Moving files is reversible. That’s the fundamental difference between Bulk Delete and Bulk Move—and it’s why Bulk Move is often the better choice when you’re reorganizing a messy folder but aren’t quite ready to commit to permanent removal.

Bulk Move lets you open any folder, see every file inside it—images, videos, audio, documents, archives, and everything else—then select and move them in bulk to a destination subfolder of your choice. No scanning, no analysis, no waiting. Just browse, select, and move.

And because moves are safer than deletions, Bulk Move is the tool to reach for when you’re cleaning up but want a safety net. If you move files to a folder called Archive-2024 and later realize you moved something you shouldn’t have, you can just open that folder and move it back. There’s no undo button, but the files are still on your drive—just in a different place.

If you’ve ever wanted to sort a messy downloads folder without risking accidental deletion, Bulk Move is the tool you’ve been waiting for.

What makes Bulk Move different from other Sakarto tools?

Sakarto’s toolkit includes duplicate finders, Media Viewer, Bulk Delete, and Bulk Rename. Each serves a different purpose:

The key insight: Bulk Move is the safer alternative to Bulk Delete. Files are moved to a named subfolder within the same directory—you can always move them back. It’s the tool to use when you’re not 100% sure you want to get rid of something permanently.

How Bulk Move works: a technical overview

Let’s walk through what happens when you use Bulk Move.

Step 1: Choose file types and select a folder

The welcome screen has six file type checkboxes: Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Archives, and Other. Only files matching enabled types are loaded. Your selections are saved to localStorage so they persist across sessions.

When you click 📂 Select Folder, the browser’s File System Access API reads the folder recursively. Every file in the folder and its subfolders is collected. No file content is read yet—only the metadata needed to build a card.

Step 2: Render cards in batches of 50

Cards are built synchronously and appended to the DOM in batches of 50, yielding to the event loop between batches. This keeps the page responsive even while loading thousands of files. The progress bar shows how far along the scan is.

Step 3: Classify and display each file type

Each file is classified based on MIME type and file extension, and displayed with a card style appropriate to its type—thumbnails for images, hover-play for videos, custom audio players, and type icons for documents and archives.

Step 4: Queue Mode (recommended)

With Queue Mode enabled (the default), clicking Move stages files in the Move Queue instead of moving them immediately. Switch to the Move Queue tab to review staged files, preview any you’re unsure about, remove items with the ✕ button, type your destination folder name, then click Move All Files to execute.

Step 5: Move via File System Access API

When you execute a move, the tool reads each file’s ArrayBuffer, writes it to a new FileSystemFileHandle in the destination folder, then calls remove() on the original handle. The move is a copy-then-delete under the hood—the original is only removed after the copy succeeds. If the write fails, the original is left untouched. If the write succeeds but the delete fails, you may end up with both the original and the copy—no data is lost.

The destination folder is created automatically inside your scanned directory. The default name is Pixy-Moved, but you can type any name you like.

The safety features: why Queue Mode exists

Moving files is safer than deleting them, but Bulk Move still has multiple safety layers:

1. Queue Mode (on by default)

Files are staged in a separate Move Queue tab before anything is moved. You can:

• Review every file before committing
• Preview each file (click 🔍) to verify it’s what you think it is
• Listen to audio files using the built-in player
• Watch videos on hover
• Remove files you change your mind about (click ✕)

2. First-time warning

If Queue Mode is disabled, a warning dialog appears the first time you try to move files. It explains that files will move immediately. You can check “Don’t show this warning again” once you’ve understood the behavior.

3. Visual queue badges

When files are in the Move Queue, a ”📂 MOVE” badge appears on each staged card in the main grid. This provides visual feedback so you can see at a glance what’s queued.

4. Copy-then-delete execution

Each file is written to the destination first, then removed from the source. If the write fails, the original is untouched. This means you never lose data—even if the move fails partway through.

Step-by-step: Using Bulk Move

Step 1: Choose your file types

On the welcome screen, check or uncheck the file type boxes. If you only want to move images and videos, uncheck Documents, Archives, Audio, and Other. Your selection is remembered next time.

Tip: Filtering to one type at a time speeds up loading and reduces cognitive load when reviewing.

Step 2: Select a folder

Click 📂 Select Folder. A native folder picker opens (Chrome/Edge). Or drag and drop a folder directly onto the page. Subfolders are included automatically—all files are read recursively.

Step 3: Browse and select files

Files appear as cards in a grid. Use any of these selection methods:

• Click a card to select it (blue border)
• Click & drag on empty space to box-select multiple cards at once
• Ctrl + drag to add to an existing selection without clearing it
• Ctrl+Click (Cmd+Click on Mac) to add a card to the compare list (purple border)
• Right-click any card for the context menu (Copy / Move / Compare)

Step 4: Preview before deciding

For any file, click the 🔍 hover icon to open a full-size preview with metadata (dimensions, size, type, path) and a 📂 Move button for quick action. Audio files open with a modal player. Videos show a frame capture with playback controls. Documents and archives show a large type icon with the extension.

To compare 2+ files side-by-side: Ctrl+Click them, then click ⚖️ Compare in the toolbar. Each item shows its preview, metadata, and a Move button for quick action from inside the compare modal.

Step 5: Move with Queue Mode (recommended)

Select the files you want to move, then click 📂 Move in the toolbar. With Queue Mode on (the default), files are added to the Move Queue tab instead of moving immediately.

Switch to the Move Queue tab in the sidebar. Review the staged files, preview any you’re unsure about, remove items with the ✕ button if you change your mind, then type your destination folder name and click Move All Files.

Tip: The default destination is Pixy-Moved. Use descriptive names like Archive-2024 or Photos-To-Sort so you know what ended up there when you browse the folder later.

Step 6: Move without Queue Mode

Uncheck Queue Mode in the toolbar if you prefer immediate moves. Clicking Move opens a dialog to confirm the destination folder name, then moves the files right away. A first-time warning explains the behavior—you can check “Don’t show again” once you’ve understood it.

Bulk Move vs. Bulk Delete: which to use?

This is the most common question. The answer depends on your certainty and risk tolerance:

Recommendation: Use Bulk Move first. Move everything you want to remove to a folder called To-Review or Archive. Review it after a few days. Then use Bulk Delete to permanently remove the files you’re certain you don’t need.

What each file type looks like

Bulk Move displays different file types in different ways so you can quickly identify what you’re looking at:

The destination folder: how it works

When you execute a move, the tool creates the destination folder inside your scanned directory. The default name is Pixy-Moved, but you can type any name in the destination input before executing.

Important: The destination folder must be inside the scanned directory. The File System Access API only grants write access to the folder you selected. You cannot move files to an arbitrary location on your drive—only to subfolders within the scanned folder.

Privacy: your files never leave your device

Like every Sakarto tool, Bulk Move runs entirely in your browser:

• Zero network activity after page load. Open DevTools → Network tab and verify: no outbound requests at any point during browsing, previewing, or moving.
• No file content is transmitted. Images are decoded locally. Audio and video are played locally. File data is only ever read and written within your local file system.
• Folder access is scoped and session-only. Permission is granted only for the specific folder you select, lasts only while the tab is open, and is revocable from browser site settings at any time.
• Only preferences are saved. File type checkboxes and Queue Mode preference are stored in localStorage. No file names, paths, or move history are ever saved.

Frequently asked questions (Bulk Move specific)

“Can I move files to a folder outside the scanned directory?”

No. The File System Access API restricts write access to the folder you opened and its subfolders. You cannot write to an arbitrary path on your drive. To move files to a completely different location, use your OS file manager and copy the file list from the Download List export as a reference.

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

The move for that specific file fails silently. The original file stays in place and the destination is not overwritten. The toast message after execution will show how many files succeeded and how many failed. To resolve: rename the conflicting file in your OS file manager, then retry the move for that file.

”Is this reversible? Can I undo a move?”

Not automatically—there is no undo button. However, since files are moved to a named subfolder within the same scanned directory (e.g., Pixy-Moved), you can easily move them back manually using your OS file manager. This is much more recoverable than deletion, which is why Bulk Move is recommended over Bulk Delete when you’re unsure.

”Why doesn’t the move button work in Firefox or Safari?”

The File System Access API, which this tool uses for folder reading and file write/delete operations, is only supported in Chrome 86+ and Edge 86+. Firefox and Safari do not support it. In those browsers, the folder picker and move operations are unavailable. You can still export a file list via Download List and use your OS file manager to move files manually.

”How is this different from the Duplicate Finder’s Move feature?”

The Duplicate Finder’s Move feature also moves files to a subfolder—but it only shows files it identifies as duplicates or similar. Bulk Move shows everything in the folder regardless of similarity, giving you manual control over what moves. Use the Duplicate Finder when you want the algorithm to suggest what to move; use Bulk Move when you already know exactly which files to relocate.

”The page is slow after loading a large folder. What can I do?”

Large folders with thousands of files create a lot of DOM elements. To improve performance: (1) uncheck file types you don’t need before scanning, (2) scan a specific subfolder rather than the root, (3) close other browser tabs to free up RAM, and (4) use a recent version of Chrome or Edge.

”Some files failed to move. What does that mean?”

A file can fail to move if: it already exists by name in the destination (filename conflict), it is currently open in another application (file lock), or you lack the required OS permissions. The toast shows how many succeeded and failed. Failed files remain in the queue so you can investigate and retry.

”What does the ‘Download List’ button do?”

Download List exports a plain-text .txt file listing every file in the current view with its path, size, and type. Useful as a snapshot of the folder structure before reorganization, or for sharing the file list without sending the actual files.

”I accidentally closed the Move Queue. Did I lose my selection?”

No—switching back to the Move Queue tab restores it. The queue is held in memory for the lifetime of the browser tab. If you reload the page or navigate away, the queue and all selections are cleared.

Final thoughts

Bulk Move is the safer alternative to Bulk Delete. It lets you reorganize files without the permanence of deletion—because moved files can always be moved back. It’s the tool to reach for when you’re cleaning up a messy folder but want a safety net.

It’s particularly effective for:

• Organizing downloads folders. Sort files into subfolders by type.
• Archiving old project files. Move them to an Archive folder.
• Preparing for a duplicate cleanup. Move suspected duplicates to a To-Review folder, then delete later.
• Sorting by file type. Move all images to an Images folder, documents to a Docs folder, and so on.

And because moves are copy-then-delete, you never lose data—even if something goes wrong, the original stays in place.

Bulk Move is the tool that makes reorganization safe and efficient.

Ready to move files in bulk?

• Open Bulk Move — free, browser‑based, no install
• Explore All Organize Tools — Media Viewer, Bulk Delete, and Bulk Rename
• Find Duplicate Images & Videos — 7 algorithms to find similar files