Renaming many files in Mac OS X, batch processing

Question

I used to rename file in Linux via a rename command:

rename 's/old_pattern/new_pattern/g' *glob

Is there something similar in Mac OS X (Snow Leopard)?

Answer 1

Clumsy me:

for i in *.yourfiles; do mv "$i" "`echo $i | sed 's/old/new/g'`"; done 

And if you want to use it like I do often this way:

rename 's/old/new/' *.files

I recommend to use this litte script in ~/bin/rename:

#!/usr/bin/env zsh
SUBSEXPR=$1
shift
for i in $@; do mv $i `echo "$i" | sed $SUBSEXPR`; done

Answer 2

There are various version of rename. It looks like you are looking for the Perl-based one.

One version of this utility comes with the File::Rename Perl module. You can install it with something like sudo cpan -i File::Rename.

Or, you could go with the rename from Debian's perl package. It is just a single file to download. Put it where ever you like and chmod it so that it is executable.

---

An alternative is the zmv tool that comes with zsh. It does not have the same syntax, but it does come with your OS and it can easily take care of many of the common cases.

Answer 3

Use the power of ZSH wisely (type zsh in the terminal if you are one of those poor souls who don't use it by default):

autoload zmv
zmv '*.htm' '$1.html'

ZMV follows MMV syntax.

Answer 4

You can try to install MacPorts and install the renameutils package:

renameutils @0.10.0 (sysutils)

renameutils is a set of programs designed to make renaming files faster and less cumbersome

Answer 5

On Macs I use Aristotle Pagaltzis's freely available rename, which like Debian's is Perl-based. You can get it here. Or visit here to read it first - always a good idea.

You need to place that somewhere in your $PATH and make it executable (chmod +x rename) and then you're good to go.

Answer 6

with brew

brew install rename 

:)

Answer 7

The best quick solution I've ever found has been using the built-in Automator. Check out this article for easy step by step help: http://www.tuaw.com/2008/11/11/mac-automation-rename-multiple-files-efficiently/

Answer 8

The following article explains how to install rename on Mac OS X: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050630022203488

Answer 9

If you are looking for a GUI, try Name Mangler. It has a "preview" feature that shows what will happen if you follow through with the renaming.