vidir

Edit filenames in a text editor

TLDR

Edit filenames in editor

$ vidir

Edit specific files

$ vidir [*.txt]

Edit directory contents

$ vidir [path/to/directory/]

Use specific editor

$ EDITOR=[vim] vidir

Verbose mode

$ vidir -v

vidir opens a list of filenames in a text editor, where each line contains a number and a filename. Editing the filenames renames the corresponding files, and deleting lines removes them. All changes are applied when you save and quit the editor.This approach leverages familiar editor features like search-and-replace, macros, and multi-cursor editing for powerful batch renaming operations that would be tedious with individual mv commands.

PARAMETERS

-v, --verbose

Verbose output.

files

Files to edit.

directory

Directory to edit.

ENVIRONMENT

EDITOR - Editor to useVISUAL - Visual editor

EXAMPLE

Editor shows:

$ 1 file1.txt
2 file2.txt
3 old_name.doc

Edit to:

$ 1 document1.txt
2 document2.txt
3 new_name.doc

INSTALL

sudo apt install moreutils

sudo dnf install moreutils

sudo pacman -S moreutils

sudo apk add moreutils

sudo zypper install moreutils

brew install moreutils

nix profile install nixpkgs#moreutils

CAVEATS

Part of the moreutils package. Deleting a line removes the file permanently. Do not change the line numbers at the beginning of each line. Use -v to see what operations are performed.

HISTORY

vidir is part of moreutils by Joey Hess. It provides intuitive file renaming using familiar editor interfaces.