[SOLVED] Rename a file in batch of directories in linux

ppat18 · 11-15-2011, 12:22 PM

Hi all,

I am newbie in scripting and have a task. I want to rename a file in batch of directories (about 2000 directories) in linux. possibly a bash or perl script.

I have a file called sms in each directory (all 2000 directories) which I need to rename it to sms.old

so needs to look like this:

/home/aa/AA/sms to /home/aa/AA/sms.old
/home/bb/BB/sms to /home/bb/BB/sms.old
..
..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

suicidaleggroll · 11-15-2011, 01:27 PM

Like this?

Code:

for i in /home/*/*/sms; do
   echo mv $i $i.old
done

Run it like this to make sure the move commands are exactly what you want, and if so, remove the "echo" and run it again to actually do the task, otherwise modify the script to suit and test it again.

David the H. · 11-15-2011, 01:51 PM

Renaming files is a very common scripting question, and has been answered often. Search the forum a bit and you should find all the answers you need. (Hint, start with the "Similar Threads" box below.)

There are also a number of ready-made renaming utilities you can use. Search the web or your software repositories.

SecretCode · 11-15-2011, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicidaleggroll

Like this?

Code:

for i in /home/*/*/sms; do
   echo mv $i $i.old
done

Run it like this to make sure the move commands are exactly what you want, and if so, remove the "echo" and run it again to actually do the task, otherwise modify the script to suit and test it again.

I think this will only find file that are exactly two directories deep ... I would use find

Code:

find /home -name sms -exec echo mv "{}" "{}.old" \;

suicidaleggroll · 11-15-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretCode

I think this will only find file that are exactly two directories deep ... I would use find

Code:

find /home -name sms -exec echo mv "{}" "{}.old" \;

Correct, it's all a matter of what the OP needs. Sometimes hardcoding it to a fixed depth can be safer, assuming the files he wants to rename are all at the same depth.

chrism01 · 11-15-2011, 06:19 PM

For extra safety you might add

Code:

-type f

as well ...

ppat18 · 11-17-2011, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretCode

I think this will only find file that are exactly two directories deep ... I would use find

Code:

find /home -name sms -exec echo mv "{}" "{}.old" \;

Awesome!! the find worked. I used it with -type f in a bash script and logged it.

thank you guys for making this so much easier!!