How to Export and Use Finder Metadata with Apple Intelligence

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If you have a bunch of video files that you need to organize and analyze, you’re not alone. Many people face this challenge when trying to keep track of large collections of media files. Here’s an easy way to export important information about your files so you can sort, review, and manage them better.

First, open your computer’s terminal or command prompt. You’ll be using a simple command to gather the data you want. This method works best on a Mac, but I’ll include options for Windows too.

For Mac users:

Open the Terminal app.

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Navigate to the folder containing your videos using the cd command. For example:

cd /path/to/your/video/folder
Run the following command to create a CSV file with your file details:

ls -lU –time=creation –block-size=1 -G -T | awk ‘BEGIN {FS=” “} {print $6″,”$7″,”$5”,”$8}’ > video_files.csv

This will generate a CSV file named video_files.csv containing date created, date modified, size, and filename. You can open this file in Excel or any spreadsheet program to review and organize your files.

For Windows users:

Open Command Prompt.
Navigate to your folder with the cd command, like:

cd C:\path\to\your\video\folder
Run this command:

dir /T:C /Q /N /S > video_files.txt

While this creates a text file, it includes creation dates and other info. For more detailed metadata (like size and last opened), you might consider using PowerShell scripts or third-party tools that can export detailed file info directly into CSV format.

If you’re open to using programs, there are free tools like ‘BulkFileChanger’ from NirSoft or ‘PowerShell’ scripts that can help extract detailed file metadata into spreadsheets.

The key is to pick the method that matches your comfort level and the tools you have. Once you get your data in a spreadsheet, it becomes much easier to sort, tag, and decide what to do with each file.

Keeping your media organized doesn’t have to be complicated. With a bit of scripting or the right tools, you can quickly gather all the details you need and keep your collection tidy.