file-naming

name	file-naming
description	File naming conventions. MUST load before writing, creating, renaming, moving, or saving any file anywhere — vault, repo, cloud storage, or local disk. Triggers: write file, create file, rename file, move file, save file, save as, name this, export, new document, new note, generate pdf, generate report, save report, file name, filename, what should I name, where should I save

File Naming

Three rules. No exceptions.

1. All lowercase — never uppercase except preserved vendor IDs (inv120251045)
2. Hyphens not spaces — pilot-proposal not pilot proposal or pilot_proposal
3. Self-explanatory — someone finding this file cold understands what it is

Date Position: Always Front

Dates go at the start. Always. This sorts files chronologically.

Granularity	When to use	Format	Example
Full date	Meetings, transcripts, receipts, daily events	YYYY-MM-DD-	2026-03-10-jane-x-sam.md
Month	Invoices, monthly reports, investor updates	YYYY-MM-	2026-02-investor-update.md
Quarter	Quarterly financials, quarterly reviews	YYYY-qN-	2026-q1-accounting-audit.md
Year	Annual reports, tax docs, yearly summaries	YYYY-	2025-cash-flow.md
No date	Templates, policies, reference docs, agreements	—	master-service-agreement.docx

When does a file get a date? If it describes something that happened or was produced at a specific time → date it. If it's a living/reusable document → no date.

Suffixes (End of Filename, Before Extension)

Suffixes tell you the document's state at a glance. Stack them in this order:

[name]-[status]-[variant].[ext]

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-signed	Legally executed	2026-03-01-agreement-acme-globex-signed.pdf
-draft	Not final	pilot-proposal-draft.docx
-reviewed	Reviewed but not signed	agreement-reviewed.docx
-vN	Version number	project-proposal-v2.docx
-eng, -est	Language variant	annual-report-2025-eng.pdf
-redlined	Has tracked changes	msa-redlined.docx
-cleaned	Cleaned/processed data	inventory-acme-cleaned.xlsx

Multiple suffixes stack: 2025-10-13-agreement-acme-globex-signed-eng.pdf

Document Type Patterns

Business Documents

Type	Pattern	Example
Meeting transcript	YYYY-MM-DD-participants-topic.md	2026-03-10-jane-x-sam.md
Proposal	YYYY-MM-client-document-type.docx	2025-12-acme-pilot-proposal.docx
Agreement	parties-agreement-type.docx	acme-and-globex-pilot-agreement.docx
SAFE	YYYY-MM-DD-safe-company-investor[-signed].pdf	2025-10-13-safe-acme-globex-ventures-signed.pdf
Invoice	YYYY-MM-vendor-invoice-vendorID.pdf	2026-02-acme-invoice-inv120251045.pdf
Receipt	YYYY-MM-DD-vendor-receipt-amount.pdf	2026-01-11-acme-receipt-13-68.pdf
Order form	order-form-OF-CLIENT-YYYY-NN.md	order-form-OF-ACME-2026-01.md
NDA/CDA	parties-nda.docx or parties-cda.docx	acme-and-globex-nda.docx
Board resolution	YYYY-MM-DD-NN-board-resolution-description[-signed].pdf	2026-03-01-01-board-resolution-founder-share-purchase-signed.pdf

Financial Documents

Type	Pattern	Example
Bank transactions	bank-transaction-type-YYYY.csv	acme-bank-all-credit-transactions-2025.csv
Quarterly financials	company-entity-financials-qN-YYYY.xlsx	acme-inc-financials-q1-2025.xlsx
Tax forms	form-number-YYYY-entity.md	1099-nec-2025-globex-consulting-inc.md
Investor update	YYYY-MM-investor-update.md	2026-02-investor-update.md

Compliance & Evidence

Type	Pattern	Example
ISMS policy	NN-isms-title.pdf	01-isms-scope-of-the-isms.pdf
Customer policy	policy-name.pdf (no number)	acceptable-use-policy.pdf
Compliance evidence	NN-description-YYYYMMDD.png	01-autoscaling-frontend-service-20260204.png
Audit report	YYYY-MM-standard-audit-type.md	2026-01-iso27001-internal-audit-report.md

People & HR

Type	Pattern	Example
CV	cv-person-name.pdf	cv-jane-doe.pdf
Contact	first-last.md	sam-rivera.md
Contract template	agreement-type.docx	employment-agreement.docx

Vault Notes

Type	Pattern	Example
Research note	YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md	2026-01-26-vector-databases.md
Reference doc	topic-name.md (no date)	onboarding-guide.md
Daily log	YYYY-MM-DD.md (date only)	2026-02-26.md
Blog post	YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md	2026-03-25-product-launch-blog-post.md

Entity Markers

Entity markers are optional. When a document involves specific legal entities, use the full entity name so it is unambiguous:

Marker	Entity
your-company-inc	Parent entity (e.g. US C-corp)
your-company-ltd	Subsidiary or other legal entity

Folder Naming

Same three rules apply. Common patterns:

Location	Pattern	Example
Vault top-level	category/	projects/
Accounting year	YYYY-document-type-entity/	2025-quarterly-financials-inc/
Events	YYYY-event-name/	2026-industry-conference/
Invoice months	YYYY-MM/	2026-01/
Investor folders	partner-name/	globex-ventures/

Participant Naming in Transcripts

• Two people: name-x-name → jane-x-sam
• Multiple parties: org1-org2-topic → acme-globex-pilot-call
• Use first names when unambiguous, full names when needed

Never Do

• Spaces in filenames
• Mixed case (Acme-Proposal.pdf)
• Underscores (except legacy scientific data — leave those alone)
• Possessives (jane's-laptop)
• Missing dates on dated documents
• Dates at the end (always front)