Use rename to change multiple filenames

I {heart} UNIX! In addition to the 'find' commend, I just found another very useful command that is now my second favorite!

rename

The rename command renames files according to a pattern, such as:

I needed to rename almost 800 files from a format like "2007_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.php" to use a hyphen (dash) instead of the underscore after the year - such as "2007-XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.php". I did this with the following for each year (there's probably a way to rename all years at once, but I didn't have a backup and didn't want to screw it up):

rename 2007_ 2007- 2007*.php

which means "change the string 2007_ to 2007- in all filenames resulting from 2007*.php".

Worked like a charm!!!

I am not responsible for any problems you may encounter. Backup all files first.

1 Comment

Matt Button | March 14, 2011 5:17 AM | Reply

Cheers for this, didn't realise the command existed! From looking at the man page it appears you can use the `-n` flag to preview the changes the command makes before applying them.

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About Cheryl

Enjoys crocheting, gardening, cats, NASCAR (especially Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch!), reading, photography, snorkeling in Kailua-Kona with sea turtles, Sizzler's Mega Bacon Cheeseburgers, hot and iced decaf coffee, dark chocolate, color (yarn, fabric), playing around with web technologies - not necessarily in that order! Still very much a beginner with quilting, knitting, and sewing. Donates crocheted lap blankets.

List maker, detail-oriented, organized, leans heavily toward perfectionism. ISTJ. Libra.

Late 40s. Married to Bill. Son Greg and daughter-in-law Lauren live in Oregon. Stepson Billy and daughter-in-law Rowena are in Maui, Hawaii. Stepson Bryan lives in the Bay Area.

Web Designer for a college in the Bay Area, California. Strives for web accessibility, web standards, valid XHTML, valid CSS.