misc-utils/rename.1.adoc

   1 //po4a: entry man manual
   2 // Written by Andries E. Brouwer (aeb@cwi.nl)
   3 // Placed in the public domain
   4 = rename(1)
   5 :doctype: manpage
   6 :man manual: User Commands
   7 :man source: util-linux {release-version}
   8 :page-layout: base
   9 :command: rename
  10
  11 == NAME
  12
  13 rename - rename files
  14
  15 == SYNOPSIS
  16
  17 *rename* [options] _expression replacement file_...
  18
  19 == DESCRIPTION
  20
  21 *rename* will rename the specified files by replacing the first occurrence of _expression_ in their name by _replacement_.
  22
  23 == OPTIONS
  24
  25 *-s*, *--symlink*::
  26 Do not rename a symlink but its target.
  27
  28 *-v*, *--verbose*::
  29 Show which files were renamed, if any.
  30
  31 *-n*, *--no-act*::
  32 Do not make any changes; add *--verbose* to see what would be made.
  33
  34 *-a*, *--all*::
  35 Replace all occurrences of _expression_ rather than only the first one.
  36
  37 *-l*, *--last*::
  38 Replace the last occurrence of _expression_ rather than the first one.
  39
  40 *-o*, *--no-overwrite*::
  41 Do not overwrite existing files. When *--symlink* is active, do not overwrite symlinks pointing to existing targets.
  42
  43 *-i*, *--interactive*::
  44 Ask before overwriting existing files.
  45
  46 include::man-common/help-version.adoc[]
  47
  48 == WARNING
  49
  50 The renaming has no safeguards by default or without any one of the options *--no-overwrite*, *--interactive* or *--no-act*. If the user has permission to rewrite file names, the command will perform the action without any questions. For example, the result can be quite drastic when the command is run as root in the _/lib_ directory. Always make a backup before running the command, unless you truly know what you are doing.
  51
  52 == INTERACTIVE MODE
  53
  54 As most standard utilities rename can be used with a terminal device (tty in short) in canonical mode, where the line is buffered by the tty and you press ENTER to validate the user input. If you put your tty in cbreak mode however, rename requires only a single key press to answer the prompt. To set cbreak mode, run for example:
  55
  56 ....
  57 sh -c 'stty -icanon min 1; "$0" "$@"; stty icanon' rename -i from to files
  58 ....
  59
  60 == EXIT STATUS
  61
  62 *0*::
  63 all requested rename operations were successful
  64
  65 *1*::
  66 all rename operations failed
  67
  68 *2*::
  69 some rename operations failed
  70
  71 *4*::
  72 nothing was renamed
  73
  74 *64*::
  75 unanticipated error occurred
  76
  77 == EXAMPLES
  78
  79 Given the files _foo1_, ..., _foo9_, _foo10_, ..., _foo278_, the commands
  80
  81 ....
  82 rename foo foo00 foo?
  83 rename foo foo0 foo??
  84 ....
  85
  86 will turn them into _foo001_, ..., _foo009_, _foo010_, ..., _foo278_. And
  87
  88 ....
  89 rename .htm .html *.htm
  90 ....
  91
  92 will fix the extension of your html files. Provide an empty string for shortening:
  93
  94 ....
  95 rename '_with_long_name' '' file_with_long_name.*
  96 ....
  97
  98 will remove the substring in the filenames.
  99
 100 == SEE ALSO
 101
 102 *mv*(1)
 103
 104 include::man-common/bugreports.adoc[]
 105
 106 include::man-common/footer.adoc[]
 107
 108 ifdef::translation[]
 109 include::man-common/translation.adoc[]
 110 endif::[]