Rename all files in dir to remove first nine characters

zappadragon · 11-12-2011, 08:22 AM

I have a directory on my desktop with several files in it. I would like to rename all of the files so that the first nine characters are removed or deleted. What is the command for doing this?

Thanks

colucix · 11-12-2011, 08:31 AM

Being inside the directory (assuming it contains only the files you want to rename):

Code:

for file in *; do echo mv $file $(echo $file | sed -r 's/^.{9}//'); done

The sed command removes the first 9 characters from the filename. The echo statement (in red) serves only to test the command before actually executing it. Check the result and if it is what you want, remove the echo and run again.

jonkiribati · 11-12-2011, 08:31 AM

You can use the find command with the exec option

zappadragon · 11-12-2011, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colucix

Being inside the directory (assuming it contains only the files you want to rename):

Code:

for file in *; do echo mv $file $(echo $file | sed -r 's/^.{9}//'); done

The sed command removes the first 9 characters from the filename. The echo statement (in red) serves only to test the command before actually executing it. Check the result and if it is what you want, remove the echo and run again.

Thank You SOOOOOO much! Worked perfect! I really need to learn sed stuff

David the H. · 11-13-2011, 06:00 AM

Please try searching the forum first in the future.

The bulk renaming of files is one of the most commonly asked, and answered, scripting questions.

There are also a number of ready-made renaming applications you can use, and a search of your distribution's software repositories and/or the web should turn a good list of them.

It would help too if you gave some actual examples of the filenames you wanted to rename. It would make it easier to recommend solutions that match your exact situation.

As for the above, you can even eliminate sed and just use bash's built-in parameter substitution.

Code:

for file in *; do mv "$file" "${file:9}"; done

If there's some kind of regular pattern to the names, then it might be more appropriate to use a different pattern; one that targets exactly the string you want to eliminate. This goes for the input glob as well. We don't want it to rename the wrong files, after all.