> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://photocli.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Group Photos Into Country, City, and Town Subfolders
> Use photo-cli copy to organize photos into a country/city/town folder hierarchy from GPS coordinates and name each file with the taken date and address.
This example groups photos into a country/city/town folder hierarchy based on their GPS coordinates, and names each file with the taken date and address. The original folder structure is discarded entirely; the new structure comes from the locations embedded in the photo EXIF data.
## Command
```bash Long form theme={null}
photo-cli copy \
--process-type FlattenAllSubFolders \
--group-by AddressHierarchy \
--naming-style DayAddress \
--reverse-geocode OpenStreetMapFoundation \
--openstreetmap-properties country city town suburb \
--number-style OnlySequentialNumbers \
--no-taken-date AppendToEndOrderByFileName \
--no-coordinate InSubFolder \
--input photos \
--output organized-albums
```
```bash Short form theme={null}
photo-cli copy -f 3 -g 4 -s 6 -e 2 -r country city town suburb -n 3 -t 4 -c 3 -i photos -o organized-albums
```
## Key arguments
| Argument | Value | What it does |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--process-type` | `FlattenAllSubFolders` | Ignores the original folder hierarchy and pools all photos together before grouping. |
| `--group-by` | `AddressHierarchy` | Creates nested output folders from the address components: `[country]/[city]/[town]`. |
| `--naming-style` | `DayAddress` | Names each file as `{yyyy.MM.dd}-{address}.ext`, with the date followed by the address. |
| `--reverse-geocode` | `OpenStreetMapFoundation` | Uses the OpenStreetMap Nominatim API to resolve GPS coordinates into address fields. |
| `--openstreetmap-properties` | `country city town suburb` | Selects which address fields to use when building folder names and file names. |
| `--number-style` | `OnlySequentialNumbers` | Appends `-1`, `-2`, etc. to disambiguate files that would otherwise share the same name. |
| `--no-taken-date` | `AppendToEndOrderByFileName` | Photos with no taken date are appended at the end of their folder, ordered by original file name. |
| `--no-coordinate` | `InSubFolder` | Photos with no GPS coordinate are placed in a `no-address` subfolder at the root of the output. |
## Before and after
**Before** (`photos/`):
```text theme={null}
├── 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_2371.jpg
└── Spain Journey
├── DSC_1807.jpg
├── DSC_1808.jpg
└── IMG_5397.jpg
2 directories, 17 files
```
**After** (`organized-albums/`):
```text theme={null}
├── España
│ └── Madrid
│ ├── 2015.04.10-España-Madrid-1.jpg
│ └── 2015.04.10-España-Madrid-2.jpg
├── Italia
│ ├── Arezzo
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-1.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-2.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-3.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-4.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-5.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-6.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-7.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-8.jpg
│ │ ├── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-9.jpg
│ │ └── 2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-10.jpg
│ └── Firenze
│ └── Quartiere 1
│ └── 2005.12.14-Italia-Firenze-Quartiere 1.jpg
├── Kenya
│ └── 2005.08.13-Kenya.jpg
├── no-address
│ ├── IMG_2371.jpg
│ └── IMG_5397.jpg
├── photo-cli-report.csv
└── United Kingdom
└── Ascot
└── Sunninghill and Ascot
└── 2012.06.22-United Kingdom-Ascot-Sunninghill and Ascot.jpg
11 directories, 18 files
```
## What you see in the output
Photos are organized by location, not by their original album names. All ten Arezzo photos from the Italy album land in `Italia/Arezzo/`, named `2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-1.jpg` through `2008.10.22-Italia-Arezzo-10.jpg`. The one Florence photo goes into `Italia/Firenze/Quartiere 1/`. The two Madrid photos from Spain Journey land in `España/Madrid/`.
The folder depth matches the number of distinct address levels returned by OpenStreetMap for each location. A single photo taken in Kenya resolves to only a country, so its folder is `Kenya/` with no city or town sub-level.
Two photos land in `no-address/`: `Italy album/IMG_2371.jpg` has a taken date but no GPS coordinate, and `Spain Journey/IMG_5397.jpg` has neither a date nor a coordinate. Both are placed in `no-address/` at the root of the output because `--no-coordinate InSubFolder` routes GPS-less photos there. Their original file names are preserved.
Combine this strategy with `--folder-append DayRange` and `--folder-append-location Suffix` to also show date ranges on each location folder. For example, `Arezzo` would become `Arezzo-2008.10.22-2008.10.22`. This gives you both geographic and temporal context in the folder listing.