photo-cli: Organize Photos by Date and GPS Location

No accounts, no subscriptions, no vendor lock-in. All photo metadata is stored on local SQLite for archive operation and CSV for others.

What `photo-cli` does

photo-cli extracts two pieces of information from each photo:

When — the taken date stored in EXIF metadata by your camera or phone
Where — the GPS coordinates, resolved to a human-readable address using a reverse geocode provider of your choice

It uses these to copy your photos into a new folder with structured names like 2024.03.15_14.22.01-France-Paris.jpg, leaving your originals untouched.

Sample Before & After `photo-cli`

A folder of 21 unsorted files becomes a clean, dated hierarchy after running a single command of archive or copy.

Before
After photo-cli archive
After photo-cli copy (one of the many options)

├── DSC_5727.jpg
├── GOPR6742.jpg
├── Italy album
│   ├── DJI_01732.jpg
│   ├── DJI_01733.jpg
│   ├── DSC00001.JPG
│   ├── DSC03467.jpg
│   ├── DSC_1769.JPG
│   ├── DSC_1770.JPG
│   ├── DSC_1770_(same).jpg
│   ├── DSC_1771.JPG
│   ├── GOPR7496.jpg
│   ├── GOPR7497.jpg
│   ├── IMG_0747.JPG
│   ├── IMG_1979.HEIC
│   ├── IMG_1979.mov
│   ├── IMG_1979.xmp
│   ├── IMG_2371.jpg
│   └── IMG_O1979.aae
└── Spain Journey
    ├── DSC_1807.jpg
    ├── DSC_1808.jpg
    └── IMG_5397.jpg

2 directories, 21 files

├── 2005
│   ├── 08
│   │   └── 13
│   │       └── 2005.08.13_09.47.23-5842c73cfdc5f347551bb6016e00c71bb1393169.jpg
│   └── 12
│       └── 14
│           └── 2005.12.14_14.39.47-03cb14d5c68beed97cbe73164de9771d537fcd96.jpg
├── 2008
│   ├── 07
│   │   └── 16
│   │       └── 2008.07.16_11.33.20-90d835861e1aa3c829e3ab28a7f01ec3a090f664.jpg
│   └── 10
│       └── 22
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.28.39-5d66eec547469a1817bda4abe35c801359b2bb55.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.29.49-629b0b141634d6c0906e49af448bec8d755ba32c.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.38.20-620d23336a12ab54f9f0190fe93960a4dba2df59.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.43.21-3b0a3215b4f66d7ff4804dd223f192c21aee71bc.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.44.01-d470205a1d331a9d3765b3762b7c954bb8efc6ea.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.46.53-f670f2bb6c54898894b06b083185b05086bd4e6e.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.52.15-6b89a245809031ecc47789cdeaa332545330fc39.jpg
│           ├── 2008.10.22_16.55.37-dd42edcde2433a7df4a3d67bf61944a20884da89.jpg
│           └── 2008.10.22_17.00.07-a0ab699f5f99fce8ff49163e87c7590c2c9a66eb.jpg
├── 2012
│   └── 06
│       └── 22
│           └── 2012.06.22_19.52.31-bb649a18b3e7bb3df3701587a13f833749091817.jpg
├── 2015
│   └── 04
│       └── 10
│           ├── 2015.04.10_20.12.23-3907fc960f2873f40c8f35643dd444e0468be131.jpg
│           └── 2015.04.10_20.12.23-9f4e6d352ec172e1059571250655e376769080fe.jpg
├── 2025
│   └── 06
│       └── 03
│           ├── 2025.06.03_13.53.36-8a45af72730474e22582afbe72f53685d705a72c.heic
│           └── 2025.06.03_13.53.36-8a45af72730474e22582afbe72f53685d705a72c.mov
├── no-photo-taken-date
│   └── cf756397cc3ca81b2650c8801fd64e172504015a.jpg
└── photo-cli.sqlite3

20 directories, 19 files

├── 2005.08.13_09.47.23-Kenya-Barut ward.jpg
├── 2005.12.14-2025.06.03-Italy album
│   ├── 2005.12.14_14.39.47-Italia-Firenze.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.28.39-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.29.49-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.38.20-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.43.21-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.44.01-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.46.53-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.52.15-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_16.55.37-Italia-Arezzo.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_17.00.07-Italia-Arezzo-1.jpg
│   ├── 2008.10.22_17.00.07-Italia-Arezzo-2.jpg
│   ├── 2025.06.03_13.53.36-Italia-Venezia.heic
│   └── 2025.06.03_13.53.36-Italia-Venezia.mov
├── 2012.06.22_19.52.31-United Kingdom.jpg
├── 2015.04.10-2015.04.10-Spain Journey
│   ├── 2015.04.10_20.12.23-España-Madrid-1.jpg
│   └── 2015.04.10_20.12.23-España-Madrid-2.jpg
├── Italy album
│   └── no-address
│       └── IMG_2371.jpg
├── Spain Journey
│   └── no-address-and-no-photo-taken-date
│       └── IMG_5397.jpg
├── photo-cli-report.csv
└── sha1.lst

6 directories, 21 files

What’s next

Quick Start

Run your first photo-cli command and see results immediately.

Features Explained

Explore all commands: copy, archive, list, info, address, settings, and mcp.

Installation

Install photo-cli on macOS, Windows, or Linux in under a minute.

Reverse Geocoding

See real before-and-after examples for common organization strategies.

​What photo-cli does

​Sample Before & After photo-cli

​What’s next