Bulk renaming files with the rename command
Names Have Been Changed

© Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
The rename command is a powerful means to simultaneously rename or even move multiple files following a given pattern.
Users often have to rename a collection of related files according to a specific pattern. You might have logfiles with dates and times in the file name, but the dates are not written in your preferred format (20230315
instead of 15-03-2023
). Perhaps you have a collection of digital photos from your camera, or maybe you are working with files created on an old Microsoft Windows or MS-DOS system that are all uppercase, and you want to give them more readable file names.
Changing the names of a few files by hand may be manageable, but changing more than a dozen files quickly becomes not only tedious but error-prone. Linux does have some tools that will rename files in bulk. Most notably, the Thunar file manager [1] has a very flexible Bulk Rename tool (Figure 1), with several powerful built-in pattern-matching criteria from which to choose, making the tool sufficient for most use cases.
Once you get used to the command line, renaming files with a text-based command is usually faster than using a graphical tool. Plus, Thunar's Bulk Rename tool, although powerful, is still limited in its flexibility. For example, while Bulk Rename can rename files, it usually cannot move files from one directory or group of directories to another.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Zorin OS 17 Beta Available for Testing
The upcoming version of Zorin OS includes plenty of improvements to take your PC to a whole new level of user-friendliness.
-
Red Hat Migrates RHEL from Xorg to Wayland
If you've been wondering when Xorg will finally be a thing of the past, wonder no more, as Red Hat has made it clear.
-
PipeWire 1.0 Officially Released
PipeWire was created to take the place of the oft-troubled PulseAudio and has finally reached the 1.0 status as a major update with plenty of improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Rocky Linux 9.3 Available for Download
The latest version of the RHEL alternative is now available and brings back cloud and container images for ppc64le along with plenty of new features and fixes.
-
Ubuntu Budgie Shifts How to Tackle Wayland
Ubuntu Budgie has yet to make the switch to Wayland but with a change in approaches, they're finally on track to making it happen.
-
TUXEDO's New Ultraportable Linux Workstation Released
The TUXEDO Pulse 14 blends portability with power, thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS CPU.
-
AlmaLinux Will No Longer Be "Just Another RHEL Clone"
With the release of AlmaLinux 9.3, the distribution will be built entirely from upstream sources.
-
elementary OS 8 Has a Big Surprise in Store
When elementary OS 8 finally arrives, it will not only be based on Ubuntu 24.04 but it will also default to Wayland for better performance and security.
-
OpenELA Releases Enterprise Linux Source Code
With Red Hat restricting the source for RHEL, it was only a matter of time before those who depended on that source struck out on their own.
-
StripedFly Malware Hiding in Plain Sight as a Cryptocurrency Miner
A rather deceptive piece of malware has infected 1 million Windows and Linux hosts since 2017.