How to make many folders at once on Windows and Mac

By INTRVL · Updated 28 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

We keep one template folder and copy it for every new job. It already has all our usual subfolders inside, so a new job takes a few seconds: copy, rename, done. If you don't have a template yet, the free folder maker builds one for you.

Our way: a template you copy

Make the template once. Make a folder called Template with all the subfolders you use on every job, and leave them empty.
Copy it for a new job. On a Mac, select it and press Command-D to duplicate it. On Windows, select it, press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V.
Rename the copy. On a Mac, select the copy and press Return. On Windows, press F2. Type the job name, like ACME-014 Summer campaign.

We keep the template right next to our jobs, so it's always one copy away. And we keep it small. Ours started with just a few folders and grew from real jobs: when we catch ourselves making the same folder by hand every time, it goes in. When one stays empty for a few jobs in a row, it comes out. A template stuffed with folders "just in case" mostly gives you empty folders to click past. There's more on that in how we set up project folders.

Or build it with the folder maker

If you'd rather not set one up by hand, the folder maker does it in your browser. Pick a starter (video job, design job or photo shoot), change it to how you work, and download it as a .zip. Unzip it where the job should live and every folder is there. It also warns you about names Windows refuses before you unzip.

The zip makes a good template too: unzip it once, call it Template, and copy it from then on.

Names that cause trouble

Windows doesn't accept some names, and a folder with one of these can fail to copy or sync. The folder maker checks for all of them.

Watch for	Details
Characters	`< > : " / \ \| ? *`
Names Windows keeps for itself	`CON PRN AUX NUL`, `COM1` to `COM9`, `LPT1` to `LPT9`, also with an extension such as `CON.txt`
Endings	A dot or space at the end of a name
Length (our preference)	We keep each name to 80 characters or fewer

We start folder names with a number, like 01_Footage, so they stay in the order we work in.

If you like typing commands

Most people never need this. But if you already use Terminal or PowerShell, one line makes a whole tree. Both make the folders inside whatever folder you're in, so we check that first.

Mac (Terminal)

In Finder, show the path bar (View, Show Path Bar), Control-click the job's parent folder in it, and choose Open in Terminal. Then:

mkdir -p Job_01/{01_Footage,02_Audio/Music,03_Exports}

The names in the curly brackets are the folders made inside Job_01, and -p makes Job_01 itself if it isn't there yet. If a name has a space, put quotes around that name only, not the brackets: mkdir -p "My Job"/{01_Footage,03_Exports}.

Windows (PowerShell)

Open PowerShell in the job's parent folder, then list each folder, separated by commas:

mkdir "Job_01\01_Footage", "Job_01\02_Audio\Music", "Job_01\03_Exports"

In our test on Windows PowerShell 5.1, this also made the folders in between, like Job_01 and 02_Audio.

Questions

Do I need to type any commands?

No. Copying a template folder or using the folder maker both work without them. The commands are only there for people who already like the keyboard.

Can the template hold files too?

Yes, and that's the nice thing about a template folder: anything inside it, like a blank project file or a notes sheet, comes along with every copy. The folder maker only makes empty folders.

Will the folders be empty?

From the folder maker, yes, ready for your files. From a template, they hold whatever you put in the template.

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