Three Simple Linux Commands to Batch Rename Files Efficiently

1. Using the rename command

The rename utility can replace parts of filenames in bulk. Its basic syntax is: rename source_string target_string files For example, to change mod to adb in files like atb_mod_01.cpp, run:

# list files
ls
# rename
rename mod adb *
# verify
ls

After execution the files become atb_adb_01.cpp, atb_adb_02.cpp, etc.

2. Batch renaming with mv inside a for‑loop

When you need to change file extensions, a simple bash loop combined with mv works well. The script below converts all .txt files to .cpp:

#!/bin/bash
for name in `ls *.txt`
do
    mv $name ${name%.txt}.cpp
done

The expression ${name%.txt} strips the .txt suffix, and the new .cpp extension is appended, effectively renaming each file.

3. Using sed with a for‑loop for pattern‑based renaming

If filenames contain a numeric part that should be separated by a hyphen, sed can reformat them. The following script turns test01.txt into test-01.txt:

#!/bin/bash
for file in `ls *.txt`
do
    newFile=`echo $file | sed 's/\([a-z]\+\)\([0-9]\+\)/\1-\2/'`
    mv $file $newFile
done

The sed expression uses captured groups: \([a-z]\+\) matches the alphabetic prefix, \([0-9]\+\) matches the numeric suffix, and \1-\2 inserts a hyphen between them. After the loop, each file is renamed accordingly.