# Batch Rename Files Online - Regex, Numbering, EXIF Date

> Free bulk file renamer: find & replace with regex, prefixes, numbering, case, EXIF photo date, extensions. Live preview, conflict checks, ZIP or rename script.

- URL: https://qilingtools.com/en/batch-rename
- Category: Productivity (https://qilingtools.com/en/office)
- Tags: [Productivity](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/office)
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Price: Free, no sign-up
- Privacy: Runs locally in the browser; files are never uploaded

Rename dozens or hundreds of files in one go. Add files or a whole folder, then stack rules in order: find & replace (with regular expressions and $1 group references), insert text at the start, end or any position, numbering with start, step and zero padding, lower / UPPER / Title case, remove the first or last N characters or specific characters, add a date from the file’s modified time or a photo’s EXIF capture time in your own format, change or normalise extensions, and trim extra spaces. Each rule can be toggled and moved up or down. A live table shows original → new names and checks for duplicates (case-insensitively, like Windows and macOS), invalid characters, reserved names and over-long names; problem rows are highlighted and keep their original name. Sort by natural name order, size, date or type, or drag rows to reorder — numbering follows. When you’re done, download the renamed files as a ZIP (with a CSV rename map and optional subfolders), or download a bash or PowerShell script that renames the originals on disk: every name is escaped, nothing gets overwritten, and swaps go through temporary names first. Files are only read in your browser and never uploaded.

## How to use

1. Click Add files or Add folder, or drag files in
2. Add and combine rename rules, check the new names in the preview table, and sort or drag rows if needed
3. Download the renamed files as a ZIP, or a bash / PowerShell script to run in the original folder

## Features

- Find & replace with regex and group references
- Insert text and zero-padded numbering
- Case changes, character removal and trimming
- Dates from modified time or EXIF capture time
- Change or normalise extensions
- Live preview with duplicate and invalid-name checks
- Natural sort, other sort orders and drag-to-reorder
- ZIP with CSV map, or bash / PowerShell script

## FAQ

### What’s the difference between the ZIP and the scripts?

Browsers can’t rename files on your disk directly, so there are two options. The ZIP contains renamed copies of your files and leaves the originals untouched — great for a modest number of files. The scripts are lists of rename commands: put one in the folder with the originals and run it (bash rename.sh on macOS / Linux, or rename.ps1 in PowerShell on Windows) to rename the files in place without copies — best for many or very large files.

### Can I rename photos by the date they were taken?

Yes. Add a Date rule and choose Photo taken date: the tool reads the EXIF DateTimeOriginal from JPG, PNG and WebP photos and falls back to the modified time for files without EXIF. Build the format from YYYY, MM, DD, HH, mm and ss — for example YYYY-MM-DD_HHmmss gives 2024-05-01_143015.

### What does “duplicate” mean?

Two files in the same folder would end up with the same name (ignoring case), which would overwrite one of them. Those rows are highlighted and keep their original names. Adding a Numbering rule or keeping part of the original name usually fixes it; the summary above the table shows how many rows have problems.

### Are the scripts safe?

They only contain mv / Rename-Item commands, and every name is single-quoted and escaped, so spaces, quotes, $ signs and backticks are taken literally. bash uses mv -n so existing files are never overwritten, and PowerShell stops on the first error. When a new name equals another file’s old name — such as swapping two names — all files are first moved to temporary names. Back up important folders before running any script.

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