Photo Library Rescue Skill

Photo libraries induce a special paralysis: 40,000 items, emotional stakes, and no obvious start. The rescue order matters — backup before touching anything, then shrink by category (screenshots, bursts, blur, duplicates — the low-sentiment bulk), and only then organize what remains, lightly, because modern search (dates, places, faces, content) does more than albums ever did. The goal isn't a curated museum; it's a library where the good photos are findable and the cruft stopped multiplying.

What This Skill Produces

• The backup-first step — verified, before any deletion; the rescue's non-negotiable opening
• The shrink passes — ordered by volume-per-sentiment: screenshots → bursts/near-dupes → blur/pocket shots → true duplicates
• The light organizing layer — favorites + a handful of albums for purposes, search trusted for the rest
• The monthly habit — the ten-minute pass that keeps the library from re-growing the cruft

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The platform(s) — one ecosystem or a split (phone + cloud + old hard drive); splits need a consolidation decision first, and the skill sequences it
• The scale and the pain — count, and what actually hurts (storage full? can't find anything? duplicate anxiety?) — the passes reorder by the pain
• Backup status, honestly — is there ANY second copy? Nothing deletes until yes
• Sentiment hotspots — the irreplaceable categories (the kids, the trip, the late relative's photos) — flagged so no bulk rule ever touches them