App Settings & Preferences

Configure Sorty’s AI provider, organization strategy, and app behavior

Sorty’s settings are organized into logical categories to help you customize every aspect of file organization. Access settings via ⌘, or the Settings menu.

AI Provider

Configure your AI provider and model to power file organization.

Available Providers

Provider	Best For	Requires API Key
OpenAI	GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT-3.5	Yes
Anthropic	Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3	Yes
GitHub Copilot	Developers with Copilot subscription	GitHub OAuth
Gemini	Google’s Gemini models	Yes
Groq	Fast inference with open models	Yes
OpenRouter	Access to multiple providers	Yes
Ollama	Local, on-device inference	No
Apple Intelligence	On-device privacy (macOS 15.1+)	No
OpenAI-Compatible	Self-hosted or custom APIs	Optional

Provider Configuration

1. Select Provider

   Navigate to Settings → AI Provider and choose your provider from the list.

2. Configure Credentials

   • API-based providers: Enter your API URL and API key
   • GitHub Copilot: Sign in with your GitHub account via device code flow
   • Apple Intelligence: No configuration needed (requires macOS 15.1+ and M-series chip)
3. Select Model

   Click the model selector to browse available models for your provider. Use the search to filter by capability (vision, streaming, etc.).

4. Test Connection

   Click Test Connection to verify your credentials and model availability.

API Keys are stored securely in the macOS Keychain and never logged or transmitted outside your chosen provider.

Model Selection

Sorty includes a comprehensive model catalog with:

• Vision support indicators for image-aware organization
• Context window sizes to understand token limits
• Recommended models for different use cases
• Real-time availability checking for your provider

Popular model choices:

OpenAI:
  - gpt-4o (recommended for vision)
  - gpt-4-turbo
  - gpt-3.5-turbo (fast, cost-effective)

Anthropic:
  - claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 (best quality)
  - claude-3-haiku (fast)

Ollama (local):
  - llama3.1
  - mistral
  - gemma2

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Organization Strategy

Control how Sorty analyzes and organizes your files.

Scanning Options

Deep Scanning

When enabled, Sorty extracts rich metadata from files:

• PDF files: Text content, title, author, keywords
• Images: EXIF data (camera model, GPS, date taken)
• Audio/Video: Duration, codec, bitrate metadata
• Documents: Title, subject, creation date

Example File Analysis

// Without Deep Scan
"IMG_1234.jpg" → Photos folder

// With Deep Scan
"IMG_1234.jpg" (EXIF: Canon EOS R5, Paris, 2024-03-15)
  → Travel/Paris_2024/Canon_Shots

Deep Scanning increases API token usage and processing time. Not supported by all models (requires large context windows).

Smart Renaming

AI suggests descriptive filenames based on content:

Original	Smart Rename
IMG_2341.jpg	sunset_beach_california.jpg
Untitled.pdf	invoice_acme_corp_march_2024.pdf
Screen Shot 2024-03-15 at 10.23.45 AM.png	code_review_screenshot.png

AI Vision for Images

Use multimodal AI to analyze image content for better organization.

Configuration

Enable AI Vision: ON
Images per Batch: 5
Supported Models:
  - gpt-4o
  - gpt-4-turbo
  - claude-3-5-sonnet
  - gemini-1.5-pro

Vision Use Cases

• Classify screenshots by app or content
• Group photos by subject (people, landscapes, food)
• Identify document types (receipts, invoices, forms)
• Detect duplicates with different names

Vision processing significantly increases API costs. Set Images per Batch conservatively (default: 5).

Naming Style

Define how files should be named when Smart Renaming is enabled.

Built-in Presets

Preset	Description	Example Output
Descriptive	Clear, readable names	project_proposal_final.pdf
Concise	Short and compact	proj_prop.pdf
Technical	Developer-friendly	project-proposal-v2.pdf
Date Prefix	ISO date + description	2024-03-15_project_proposal.pdf
Lowercase	All lowercase with underscores	project_proposal_final.pdf

Custom Naming Instructions

Provide your own rules for the AI to follow:

Example Instructions

- Use camelCase for all filenames
- Remove spaces and use underscores
- Include project codes in brackets [PROJ-123]
- Preserve original file extensions
- Add date suffix in YYYY-MM-DD format

Use the Generate Instructions button to create custom naming rules by describing your preferences in plain language.

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Organization Rules

Define constraints and preferences for file organization.

Organization Limits

Max Top-Level Folders: Control how many main categories the AI creates

Settings

Minimal (3 folders):
  - Best for simple organization
  - Groups files into broad categories
  - Example: Work, Personal, Archive

Balanced (10 folders):
  - Default setting
  - Good mix of specificity and simplicity

Detailed (20 folders):
  - Maximum granularity
  - Creates many specialized categories

Subfolders are not limited by this setting. The AI can create unlimited nested folder structures within top-level categories.

Content Rules

File Tagging

Enable AI-suggested Finder tags for organized files:

• Tags are searchable in Spotlight and Finder
• Common tags: Invoice, Personal, Important, Archive, Work
• Custom tags suggested based on file content
• Compatible with macOS Smart Folders

Tag Examples

"invoice_march_2024.pdf"
  → Tags: [Invoice, Financial, 2024]

"family_vacation_photo.jpg"
  → Tags: [Personal, Photos, Travel]

"meeting_notes.md"
  → Tags: [Work, Notes, Important]

Organization Style (Personas)

Personas customize AI behavior for different workflows. See Personas for detailed configuration.

Quick persona selection in Settings → Organization Rules → Organization Style:

• General: Standard categories (Documents, Media, Archives)
• Developer: Groups by language, framework, project
• Photographer: Organizes by shoot date, camera, location
• Music Producer: Sorts samples, projects, stems
• Student: Groups by course, semester, subject
• Business: Organizes by client, project, fiscal period

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Parameter Tuning

Fine-tune AI behavior for advanced use cases.

Temperature Control

Adjusts AI creativity vs. determinism:

Temperature	Behavior	Best For
0.0 - 0.3	Predictable, strict	Consistent daily organization
0.4 - 0.6	Balanced	Most use cases (default: 0.5)
0.7 - 1.0	Creative, exploratory	One-time cleanup projects

Token Limits

Control request and response size:

• Max Request Tokens: Files to include in a single API call
• Max Response Tokens: Length of AI’s organization plan
• Auto-adjust: Sorty automatically reduces batch size if token limits are exceeded

Timeout Settings

Recommended Timeouts

Fast providers (OpenAI, Groq): 30-60s
Slow providers (local Ollama): 120-300s
Vision-enabled requests: 60-120s

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Advanced Settings

Streaming Responses

Enable real-time AI output as it generates:

Streaming Benefits

• See organization structure as it’s created
• Cancel long-running requests early
• Better progress feedback
• Reduced perceived latency

Request Retries

Automatic retry logic for failed API calls:

• Max Retries: 3 (default)
• Backoff Strategy: Exponential (1s, 2s, 4s)
• Retry Conditions: Network errors, rate limits, timeouts

Privacy Mode

Enable Privacy Mode

defaults write com.sorty.app privacyModeEnabled -bool true

When enabled:

• API keys are blurred until manually revealed
• GitHub usernames are blurred until hover
• Sensitive paths are redacted in logs

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Help & Support

Built-in Documentation

Access help resources directly in the app:

• Settings → Help & Support: Browse quick start guides
• Deeplink Reference: Copy automation URLs for Shortcuts
• FAQ: Common questions and troubleshooting

External Resources

• GitHub Repository: shirishpothi/Sorty
• Issue Reporting: Use GitHub Issues for bugs
• Feature Requests: Submit via GitHub Discussions
• Security Issues: Email directly (do not open public issues)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘,	Open Settings
⌘1-5	Navigate to settings categories
⌘Z	Undo last organization
⇧⌘L	Open The Learnings dashboard
⇧⌘H	View organization history

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Experimental Features

Enable beta features via Terminal:

Feature Flags

# Enable Finder Integration
defaults write com.sorty.app finderIntegrationEnabled -bool true

# Enable Batch Organization
defaults write com.sorty.app batchOrganizationEnabled -bool true

# Enable GitHub Update Checker
defaults write com.sorty.app updateCheckerEnabled -bool true

# Enable Advanced Notification Controls
defaults write com.sorty.app advancedNotificationSettingsEnabled -bool true

Experimental features may be unstable or incomplete. Use at your own risk.

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Resetting Settings

Reset All Settings

Restore default configuration:

1. Settings → Troubleshooting → Reset Sorty
2. Confirm the reset action
3. App will restart with factory defaults

Clear Specific Data

• Cache: Settings → Troubleshooting → Clear Cache
• Learning Data: Settings → Troubleshooting → Learnings Data → Delete All
• History: Settings → Troubleshooting → Clear Organization History

Resetting settings does not delete your API keys (stored in Keychain) or watched folders.