well that was a shock

[crp]

I've been using linux for about 25 years. seriously, i purchased RH2 on cd's. never as my main system but either as a plaything, a workstation when a gui wasn't needed or (mostly) as a server. Today i found out something which if i did know before i totally forgot.

 

Have a directory with multiple csv files, all starting with "sesamm" and followed by between 3-5 characters. I needed to rename them to "waesle"-whatever.

no problem , i figured. in DOS i would do ren sesamm*.csv waesle*.csv so i'll just do  mv sesamm*.csv waesle*.csv  

Nope! 

That does not work. One gets an error message about a directory waesle123.csv not existing.  Linux does not have a built in command to rename multiple files with one shot. In the end i did them one-by-one. (doing it with for was way too complicated for me to try without testing and debugging.)

 

 

 

[securitybreach]

Of course you can: https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-rename-multiple-files-on-linux

[securitybreach]

And https://phoenixnap.com/kb/rename-file-linux

[securitybreach]

Using find or mv may be easier for you. The second links gives multiple ways of renaming multiple files on linux.

[crp]

like i posted , Linux does not have a built in command to rename multiple files at the same time. one needs to install a separate utility or use scripting.

 

[securitybreach]

mv is a built in unix command and find is preinstalled (via findutils) on most all distros. Technically Linux is just the kernel, the the rest are apps.

[sunrat]

for loops are awesome. I've worked out a couple ( sometimes with help) that save me heaps of time for actions I do often. And usually quite easy to understand and test.

That said, I usually use the Multi Rename Tool utility in Double Commander for multiple file renaming.

 

 

[V.T. Eric Layton]

For single files, mv  works quite well.

 

 

[abarbarian]

Quote

Thunar includes a bulk renamer which can be run separately using the command Thunar -B or from within Thunar by selecting two or more files in the main area and pressing F2 or choosing