FileUse Bench

A Windows 11 folder that opens at login with shortcuts to recently used files—without taskbar pinning, desktop clutter, or manual organization.

FileUse Bench watches the signal Windows already maintains in Recent Items. It records purposeful file opens in a local SQLite database, gives repeatedly used files longer tenure on The Bench, and retires inactive entries to Discharged. The original files are never moved, modified, or deleted.

How it works

1. FileUse.ps1 resolves shortcuts from %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent and records their targets, timestamps, and open counts.
2. FileUse-Tenure.ps1 processes those events chronologically and assigns each file a tenure stage.
3. -SyncDock builds The Bench as a folder of ordinary Windows shortcuts that retain their targets' native icons.
4. -Retire removes expired entries from the active Bench and records them in Discharged. This affects shortcuts only; source files stay where they are.

The tenure ladder is intentionally based on return visits, not click bursts:

Qualifying use	Tenure window
First open	48 hours
Return on a later day	5 days
Next later-day return	14 days
Next later-day return	30 days
Further return while active	Renew for 30 days

Extra opens on the same local calendar day refresh activity but do not advance rank.

Requirements

• Windows 11
• PowerShell 7 or Windows PowerShell 5.1
• PSSQLite, or sqlite3.exe on PATH

Quick start

Open PowerShell in the cloned repository:

Install-Module PSSQLite -Scope CurrentUser
Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath . -Filter '*.ps1' | Unblock-File

.\FileUse.ps1 -Init
.\FileUse.ps1 -Harvest
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Apply -Retire -SyncDock
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -InstallStartup
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Open

Set The Bench folder to Extra Large Icons once. Windows normally remembers that folder view.

Refreshing the Bench

Run these commands whenever you want to incorporate new Recent Items and update tenure:

.\FileUse.ps1 -Harvest
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Apply -Retire -SyncDock

The startup shortcut opens the current Bench at login. It does not silently alter your files or run the tenure pipeline.

To harvest Recent Items every two minutes in your interactive Windows session:

.\FileUse.ps1 -InstallTask

The scheduled task updates the database. Run the tenure refresh command above when you want to rebuild the visible Bench.

Useful commands

Usage database

.\FileUse.ps1 -Top 40
.\FileUse.ps1 -Top 40 -Frecency
.\FileUse.ps1 -Top 40 -Like '%\Documents\%'
.\FileUse.ps1 -Watch
.\FileUse.ps1 -InstallTask
.\FileUse.ps1 -UninstallTask

Tenure board

.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Roster
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -History
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Apply -Retire -SyncDock
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -Open
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -InstallStartup
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -UninstallStartup

Simple ranked Dock

FileUse-Dock.ps1 is an alternative to the tenure system. It creates a flat, numbered board ordered by recency/open count or by frecency.

.\FileUse-Dock.ps1 -Sync -Top 24
.\FileUse-Dock.ps1 -Sync -Top 24 -Frecency
.\FileUse-Dock.ps1 -InstallStartup
.\FileUse-Dock.ps1 -Open

Local data and privacy

By default, FileUse Bench creates:

%USERPROFILE%\FileUse\fileuse.sqlite
%USERPROFILE%\FileUse\fileuse.log
%USERPROFILE%\FileUse\The Bench\
%USERPROFILE%\FileUse\Discharged\

The database remains local and contains full paths to files you have opened. Treat it as private. The repository's .gitignore excludes the database, log, generated boards, and shortcut files.

FileUse Bench does not monitor an entire drive or recursively watch Documents, Downloads, or OneDrive. It reads Windows Recent Items so background activity such as indexing, antivirus scanning, and thumbnail generation is not mistaken for intentional use. Applications that do not update Windows Recent Items may not be observed.

Safety and reliability

• Real files are never moved or deleted.
• Shortcut names include a stable path tag, preventing same-named files from overwriting one another.
• Recent-item events are deduplicated in SQLite.
• Tenure replay and its event watermark are committed atomically when PSSQLite is used.
• Dock synchronization removes only managed shortcut files, preserving unrelated non-shortcut files.
• Missing targets stay in the history but do not produce broken Bench shortcuts.

Removal

Remove the scheduled task and Startup shortcut with:

.\FileUse.ps1 -UninstallTask
.\FileUse-Tenure.ps1 -UninstallStartup

The local SQLite database, log, and generated folders are deliberately left in place so uninstalling automation cannot erase history unexpectedly. Delete those manually only if you no longer want them.

Credits

• Tom (@gaoptimize) — Original idea
• Grok by xAI — Development
• Codex by OpenAI — Debugging, refinement, and deployment

License

MIT