shootsv0.5.0
shoots import

DocsCommands

shoots import

Offload a card (or any source folder) into a destination catalog — optionally renamed from EXIF, always checksum-verified.

shoots import <source> --dest <path> [options]

Arguments

Argument Required Description
<source> yes Source directory (scanned recursively) or a single file

Options

Option Default Description
--dest <path> required Destination directory
--rename off Rename using the default template {camera}{orig}.{ext}
--pattern <template> — Rename using a custom filename template. Implies --rename.
--dir <template> {year}/{year}-{month}-{day} Subfolder template under --dest
--flat off Copy straight into --dest with no date subfolders
--move off Delete each source after its copy is checksum-verified
--concurrency <n> 4 Max parallel file operations
--dry-run off Show the planned actions without executing them
--json off Machine-readable JSON on stdout
--verbose off Verbose logging on stderr

Behaviour

Copy is the default; --move is verified

import copies. With --move, the source file is deleted only after the copy's SHA-256 has been compared against the source's and matched. This is the single reason --move is safe to point at a card you are about to reformat.

Every copy is checksum-verified

Source and destination are both hashed with SHA-256 after the copy. On a mismatch:

  • the command deletes the corrupt copy (never the source),
  • reports the file as failed with both digests,
  • continues with the rest of the batch,
  • exits 1.

Names are kept unless you ask otherwise

Renaming is opt-in. Without --rename or --pattern, files keep their original names ({orig}.{ext}). Your camera's numbering carries meaning; shoots will not discard it silently.

You pass Effective pattern
(nothing) {orig}.{ext} — original name preserved
--rename {camera}{orig}.{ext}
--pattern "..." your template

Date folders are the default

Files land in <dest>/{year}/{year}-{month}-{day}/, a Lightroom-style catalog layout. Change it with --dir, disable it with --flat.

Dates come from EXIF DateTimeOriginal when exiftool is available, otherwise from the file's mtime. The JSON output records which was used per file, as dateSource: "exif" | "mtime".

Collisions are never overwritten

If the computed destination name already exists, shoots appends _2, _3, … An existing file is never overwritten, in any mode.

Sequence numbers follow capture order

{seq} is assigned after sorting the batch by capture date, not by filename. See Filename templates.

exiftool is optional here

EXIF is read only when a name or directory template references capture metadata. If exiftool cannot be provisioned, import degrades rather than aborting: dates fall back to mtime (date folders still work) and {camera}/{lens} render as unknown-camera / unknown-lens.

Examples

Safest first run

shoots import E:/DCIM/100CANON --dest D:/Shoots/2026/smith-wedding --dry-run
copy  E:\DCIM\100CANON\IMG_0001.CR3  →  D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding\2026\2026-07-19\IMG_0001.CR3
copy  E:\DCIM\100CANON\IMG_0002.CR3  →  D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding\2026\2026-07-19\IMG_0002.CR3

(dry run) 482 files would be copied to D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding

Real offload

shoots import E:/DCIM/100CANON --dest D:/Shoots/2026/smith-wedding
ok    E:\DCIM\100CANON\IMG_0001.CR3  →  D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding\2026\2026-07-19\IMG_0001.CR3  [sha256 verified]
ok    E:\DCIM\100CANON\IMG_0002.CR3  →  D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding\2026\2026-07-19\IMG_0002.CR3  [sha256 verified]

482/482 files copied to D:\Shoots\2026\smith-wedding

Renamed, fully descriptive

shoots import E:/DCIM/100CANON \
  --dest D:/Shoots/2026/smith-wedding/raw \
  --pattern "{date}_{time}_{camera}_{seq:4}.{ext}"

→ 20260719_143052_Canon-EOS-R5_0001.cr3

Flat destination, no date folders

shoots import E:/DCIM --dest ./raw --flat

Custom folder layout: by camera, then date

shoots import E:/DCIM --dest ./catalog --dir "{camera}/{year}-{month}-{day}"

→ ./catalog/Canon-EOS-R5/2026-07-19/IMG_0001.CR3

Clearing a card safely

shoots import E:/DCIM --dest D:/Shoots/2026/smith-wedding --move --verbose

Each source is deleted only after its copy verifies. Any file that fails verification leaves its source untouched.

Two-card shoot, merged into one catalog

for card in E: F:; do
  shoots import "$card/DCIM" --dest D:/Shoots/2026/smith-wedding --json \
    >> import-log.jsonl || echo "FAILED: $card"
done

Collision suffixes (_2, _3) keep the second card's identically-numbered files intact.

JSON output

Dry run

{
  "command": "import",
  "dryRun": true,
  "move": false,
  "files": [
    {
      "source": "E:\\DCIM\\100CANON\\IMG_0001.CR3",
      "dest": "D:\\Shoots\\2026\\smith-wedding\\2026\\2026-07-19\\IMG_0001.CR3",
      "dateSource": "exif"
    }
  ]
}

Real run

{
  "command": "import",
  "dryRun": false,
  "move": false,
  "files": [
    {
      "source": "E:\\DCIM\\100CANON\\IMG_0001.CR3",
      "dest": "D:\\Shoots\\2026\\smith-wedding\\2026\\2026-07-19\\IMG_0001.CR3",
      "checksum": "9f2b1c...",
      "verified": true,
      "moved": false,
      "dateSource": "exif"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "summary": { "total": 482, "succeeded": 482, "failed": 0 }
}
Field Meaning
checksum SHA-256 of the file (identical on both sides — that is the point)
verified Always true for a file in files; a failed verification lands in errors
moved Whether the source was deleted (--move)
dateSource "exif" or "mtime" — where the capture date came from

Useful queries

# Files whose date came from mtime, not EXIF — worth a second look
shoots import E:/DCIM --dest ./raw --json | jq -r '.files[] | select(.dateSource=="mtime") | .source'

# Total imported bytes verified
shoots import E:/DCIM --dest ./raw --json | jq '.summary.succeeded'

Exit codes

Code When
0 Every file copied and verified
1 At least one file failed to copy or verify
2 Invalid --pattern or --dir template

See also

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