---
url: /guide/organizing.md
description: >-
  Organize files with nested folders, tags and favorites, delete safely with the
  trash and the in-use guard, and schedule the prune command.
---

# Organizing

Folders, tags and favorites are three ways to find a file again. Each one can be switched off with a [feature flag](/reference/plugin).

## Folders

Folders nest inside each other. The sidebar shows the tree, and the main area shows the sub-folders of the folder you are in, with item counts.

**Create.** Click the **+** in the sidebar heading, choose **New folder** from the arrow beside **Upload**, or use the button in an empty library. The new folder is created inside the folder you are viewing. A folder has a name (up to 120 characters), an optional colour and, when private files are on, a visibility. Creating a folder whose name already exists in the same parent is refused.

**Edit.** Each folder tile has a menu with **Edit folder**, **Move** and **Delete folder**. Editing changes the name, colour and visibility.

**Move.** Drag a folder onto another folder or onto a sidebar entry, or use **Move** to pick a destination. Drop on **All folders** to return it to the top level. A folder cannot be moved into itself or into one of its own sub-folders.

**Delete.** Deleting a folder deletes its sub-folders too. The files inside are not lost: they move to the trash and are listed there at the top level. The delete is refused when:

* any file in the folder tree is still used somewhere, or
* the tree holds private files or folders that belong to someone else.

Move or detach those files first. If the `Trash` feature is off, the files are deleted for good.

To move files, drag them onto a folder, use **Move** in the bulk bar, or change **Folder** in the details panel. See [The library page](/guide/library#drag-to-folders).

## Tags

Tags are free-form labels. Add them in the details panel, where the field suggests existing tags, or to many files at once with **Tag** in the bulk bar. Typing a name that does not exist creates it. Bulk tagging adds tags and never removes any; to remove a tag, edit the file in the details panel.

The sidebar tag cloud filters the grid, and the search box matches tag names. See [The library page](/guide/library#tags).

## Favorites

Click the star on a tile, or the star in the details panel, to favorite a file. Favorites belong to each user, so your stars do not change what a colleague sees. The **Favorites** view lists them.

## Trash

Deleting a file moves it to the trash. Open **Trash** in the sidebar to see it.

* **Restore** puts files back in their original folder. If that folder was deleted, they return to the top level.
* **Delete forever** removes the files and all their sizes. It cannot be undone.
* **Empty trash** deletes every file in the view for good, after you confirm.
* Trashed files cannot be edited, favorited or dragged, and they cannot be picked in a form field.

Files stay in the trash for 30 days by default, then the prune command removes them. They still count toward your storage quota until then.

### Prune schedule

Register the command once, in `routes/console.php`:

```php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schedule;

Schedule::command('media-library:prune')->daily();
```

Change the retention in the config, or for one run with `--days`:

```php
'trash' => [
    'enabled' => true,
    'prune_after_days' => 30,
],
```

```bash
php artisan media-library:prune --days=7
```

The command also clears upload chunks left behind by interrupted uploads. See [Commands](/reference/commands).

To skip the trash entirely, call `disableFeatures(Feature::Trash)` on the plugin. Deleting then removes files immediately.

## The in-use guard

The library records where each file is used: every `MediaPicker`, every attachment made with the `HasMediaLibrary` trait, and every import that attaches files to a model. A tile shows a link badge with the count, the details panel lists the places under **Used in**, and the **Unused** view finds files that are safe to delete.

When you delete files that are still used, the dialog says how many and refuses to continue until you turn on **Remove from those places and delete**. The server enforces the same rule, so a hidden button cannot bypass it.

What the option does depends on the delete:

* **Delete to trash.** The file moves to the trash and its usage links are kept. Those places show no file until someone picks a new one, and restoring the file puts it back where it was used.
* **Delete forever, Empty trash and prune.** The usage links are removed with the file.

Deleting a folder never offers this option. If a file inside it is in use, the folder delete is refused.

Next: [Inspector](/guide/inspector).