How to Batch Rename Files on Windows, Mac, and Online

Renaming files one by one is fine for five files and miserable for five hundred. Every desktop system has a way to batch rename, but each one is limited in a different way. This guide covers the built-in options on Windows and macOS, the more powerful free tools, and a browser-based renamer for when you need numbering, dates, and a preview on any computer.

Before you batch rename anything

• Work on copies the first time you try a new method, especially with scripts.
• Sort the folder first. Sequential numbers follow the current sort order, so sort by name or date before you start.
• Decide the naming rule before touching the files. A rule written down once is easier to repeat on the next job.

How to batch rename files in Windows File Explorer

1. Open the folder and select the files. Press Ctrl + A to select all.
2. Press F2, or right-click the first file and choose Rename.
3. Type the new base name, for example Holiday, and press Enter.

Windows renames the set to Holiday (1).jpg, Holiday (2).jpg, and so on. It is quick, but you cannot choose the number format, add dates, or replace part of a name. If you make a mistake, press Ctrl + Z immediately to undo.

How to bulk rename files with PowerToys PowerRename

PowerRename is part of Microsoft PowerToys, a free download from Microsoft. After installing it:

1. Select the files in File Explorer.
2. Right-click and choose Rename with PowerRename. On some Windows 11 builds it sits under Show more options.
3. Enter the text to search for and what to replace it with. Tick Use regular expressions for pattern matching.
4. Choose whether to apply the change to the filename, the extension, or both, and use the text formatting and enumeration options if needed.
5. Check the preview on the right, then click Apply.

PowerRename is the best free option on Windows for find-and-replace renaming. It is less convenient when you want to build a new name from several parts, such as a client name, a date, and a padded number.

How to batch rename files with PowerShell

Open PowerShell in the folder (in File Explorer, right-click an empty space and choose Open in Terminal). To replace text in every JPEG name:

Get-ChildItem -Filter *.jpg | Rename-Item -NewName { $_.Name -replace 'IMG_', 'smith-wedding_' }

To give every JPEG a padded sequential number:

$i = 1
Get-ChildItem -Filter *.jpg | Sort-Object Name | ForEach-Object {
  $newName = 'smith-wedding_{0:D3}{1}' -f $i, $_.Extension
  Rename-Item -LiteralPath $_.FullName -NewName $newName
  $i++
}

That produces smith-wedding_001.jpg, smith-wedding_002.jpg, and so on. Scripts are powerful but unforgiving: there is no undo, so run them on a copy of the folder first.

How to batch rename files on a Mac

1. Select the files in Finder.
2. Right-click and choose Rename. On older versions of macOS it reads Rename [number] Items.
3. Choose Replace Text, Add Text, or Format from the first menu.
4. For numbering, choose Format, then Name and Index, type the custom name, and set the starting number.
5. Click Rename. Press Command + Z straight away to undo.

Finder handles simple jobs well. It cannot combine several rules in one pass, read a photo’s capture date, or pad numbers to three digits. For a quick extension change in Terminal, this loop renames every .jpeg file to .jpg:

for f in *.jpeg; do mv -- "$f" "${f%.jpeg}.jpg"; done

How to batch rename files on a Chromebook

The ChromeOS Files app renames one file at a time and has no bulk rename option. A browser-based renamer, like the one below, is the simplest way to rename many files on a Chromebook.

How to batch rename files online

The online batch file renamer works in any modern browser and builds new names from a stack of steps, applied in order.

1. Drag the files onto the page, or click to choose them.
2. Add rename steps, for example Find & Replace, Insert Text, Numbering, Pad Numbers, Extract Date from EXIF, Change Case, or Change Extension.
3. Drag the steps into the order you want and watch the preview table update.
4. Download the renamed files as a ZIP.

Files are processed in your browser, not uploaded to a server, and the originals on your computer are never changed because you download renamed copies. The free plan allows recipes of up to two steps and one ZIP download a week; Pro removes both limits. The batch file renamer walkthrough explains every step in detail.

Naming rules that scale

• Put dates first, as YYYY-MM-DD. Files then sort in date order everywhere.
• Pad numbers. Use 001 rather than 1 so file 10 does not sort before file 2.
• Avoid spaces and special characters. Windows does not allow \ / : * ? " < > | in names, and spaces break many web links. Use hyphens or underscores.
• Keep names short and meaningful.2026-09-24_smith-wedding_014.jpg tells you the date, job, and frame at a glance.

Photographers can take this further. A consistent name makes client selections unambiguous, as explained in the photography file naming convention guide . Once the files are renamed, a contact sheet with visible filenames lets clients reply with exact picks.