vimv - rename multiple files inside a text editor

vimv makes it easy to rename various files by letting you make the changes inside a text editor.

How does it work?

Run vimv from the command-line:

vimv

This will open vi with the list of files in the current directory.

Change the filenames, save and exit.

The files will be renamed when you exit vi.

Installation

Requires Python (run python -V to check).

On Unix, Linux or macOS:

1. Download the script vimv.py
2. Copy it to /usr/local/bin/
3. Rename it to vimv
4. Make it executable (chmod +x /usr/local/bin/vimv)

vimv has NOT been tested on Windows.

You may need to run chmod as super user:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/vimv

Usage

To use a different editor, e.g., the pico editor:

vimv -e pico

To rename ALL files in a directory, including hidden files:

vimv -a

To rename files in a different directory, e.g., in the /home directory:

vimv /home

To see the full list of options available:

vimv --help

Deleting files

Delete files by leaving a blank name where a filename used to be.

Debugging and history

A log of the changes is written to ~/.vimv_history.

Warning

Don't use filenames with double quotes.