Directory Lifecycle

What It Is

The directory lifecycle is a structured folder hierarchy that manages content through its entire production lifecycle. Each directory represents a stage in the content pipeline, and file movement between directories triggers automated actions. It's the structural backbone that makes the content machine (and other file-driven pipelines) possible.

Key Patterns / Components

Standard Lifecycle Stages

ideas.md          → Raw content ideas and inspiration
queue/           → Ideas approved for production, awaiting drafting
drafts/           → First draft content
review/           → Content awaiting human review
approved/         → Human-approved content, ready for publishing
published/       → Finished, published content

Trigger-Based Automation

File movement between directories acts as the trigger for pipeline actions:
- drafts → review/ — Notifies reviewer, generates review checklist
- review → approved/ — Triggers publishing pipeline (formatting, SEO, social posts)
- approved → published/ — Marks as complete, archives timestamp

Asset Versioning

Copies existing files to archive with timestamp before saving new versions, updating a CHANGELOG. Ensures nothing is ever lost when content is revised.

Daily cron job that:
1. Finds today's screenshots in Downloads
2. Analyzes with vision model
3. Categorizes and renames descriptively
4. Moves to organized archive
5. Deletes junk files

How It Applies to Marketing Factory

Every marketing deliverable type can use a directory lifecycle: campaign ideas → queue → drafts → review → approved → published. The trigger-based automation means that as content moves through stages, the right actions happen automatically without manual coordination.