How Do You Catalog a Local Library of Downloaded 4K Assets?

Catalog the downloads as a tiny DAM, not as a desktop dump. One 3840x2160 sRGB PNG per plate, a stable filename, a sidecar that holds keywords and the source URL, and a hard wall between masters and previews. If you leave everything in Downloads you will send the 1920 WebP, lose the license trail, and re-download the same HUD plate six times.

You do not need Bridge, Photo Mechanic or a paid DAM to start. You need a folder law you will still obey on a tired Thursday.

Folder law and filenames

Use a disk layout that names the role of every directory:

library/
  inbox/                 untouched downloads, original names
  masters/3840x2160-srgb/
  sidecars/
  previews/1920/
  working/
  reject/

inbox/ is a quarantine. You download from the archive, you drop the PNG here, you do not rename yet. Confirm it is 3840x2160, 8-bit, no watermark, and that you still want it. Then move, do not copy, into masters/. Copies are how two "originals" drift.

Rename on the way in. A usable master name is neon-grid-tunnel-3840x2160-srgb.png. The slug is human. The size is a checksum you can see. The color space stops a future you from assigning Adobe RGB. Keep the archive asset id in the sidecar, because the public filename on disk does not have to be the hash.

Never store the site's 640 thumb or 1920 preview in masters/. Those belong in previews/ if you want a light browser for meetings. Generate them yourself from the master if you need a matching set. The public preview is a convenience, not a second original.

working/ is disposable. Crops, type-overs, CMYK TIFFs, hero WebPs all live here, named with the job and the date. When the job ships, the keepers move to that job's client-out/ tree, described in the hand-off guide. They do not overwrite the master.

reject/ is for files you downloaded and then failed a usability check. Delete them on a schedule. A reject folder that never empties is just Downloads with extra steps.

One master per visual. If you crop a 4:5 hero, that crop is a working file. If you convert to FOGRA39, that TIFF is a working file. The library holds the sRGB PNG only. This is the same split as work file versus wallpaper, enforced by path.

Sidecars, keywords and a search you will actually use

A sidecar is a text file with the same stem as the master: neon-grid-tunnel-3840x2160-srgb.txt or .json. Minimum fields:

• source: https://microstock-mikhail.com/ plus the path you care about.
• downloaded: ISO date.
• pixels: 3840x2160.
• color: sRGB IEC61966-2.1.
• license: /license/ and the date you read it.
• keywords: copied from the page tags, lowercase.
• notes: "quiet left third, good for title slides" or "too busy under 18 pt type."

Keywords should match the public tag list when they can: hud, neon, grid, presentation, dark. Add job words the site will never use: acme-rebrand, q3-sales-deck. Those job words are how a library stays faster than memory.

If you like Bridge, you can also write IPTC keywords onto a library copy. Keep a clean clone for clients who want metadata stripped. The library copy may be chatty. The exit copy is quiet.

Search can be the OS. On Windows, putting keywords in the sidecar and in the filename is enough for Explorer. On macOS, Spotlight indexes the text files. A spreadsheet is fine up to a few hundred rows. Columns: filename, tags, last used, job. When the sheet and the folder disagree, the folder wins. Rebuild the sheet.

Do not build a second archive of "favorites" that are aliases to Downloads. Aliases break. One masters/ path, referenced from job folders by a short note, not by a second binary.

Backup is part of cataloging. These files are 3 to 18 MB each. A hundred plates is still smaller than one motion project. Mirror masters/ and sidecars/ to a second disk. Do not rely on a WeTransfer history or a browser cache.

If a plate also exists as an animated version on Unique Live Wallpaper, store that URL in the sidecar as motion, not as a second master in masters/. Mixing stills and loops in one folder is how a printer gets a video.

When you are choosing a new plate, browse the archive with the library folder open. If you already have three gradient sunsets, you do not need a fourth unless the brief says so. A catalog that only grows is a hoard. A catalog that records "last used" is a library.