diff --git a/laravel_app/app/Livewire/Projects/ProjectManager.php b/laravel_app/app/Livewire/Projects/ProjectManager.php
index bd08415..cc05e0f 100644
--- a/laravel_app/app/Livewire/Projects/ProjectManager.php
+++ b/laravel_app/app/Livewire/Projects/ProjectManager.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 use App\Models\ProjectEmailRecipient;
 use App\Rules\HarvestFile;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Validator;
+use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 use Illuminate\Validation\Rule;
 use Livewire\Component;
 use Livewire\WithFileUploads;
@@ -87,11 +88,19 @@ public function createProject()
             ])->validate();
         $project = Project::create([
             'name' => $this->formData['name'],
-            'download_path' => $this->formData['name']
+            'download_path' => $this->makeValidDirectoryName($this->formData['name'])
         ]);
         return redirect()->route('project.show',[$project->name,'settings']);
     }
 
+    private function makeValidDirectoryName($string)
+    {
+        return Str::of($string)
+            ->replaceMatches('/[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]/', '_')  // Replace invalid characters
+            ->trim()  // Remove leading/trailing spaces
+            ->lower();  // Convert to lowercase
+    }
+
     public function saveProject()
     {
         $this->resetErrorBag();