An Ubuntu/Linux alternative of Bulk Rename Utility for Windows?

I have only spent 5 months with Ubuntu and it has been an awesome experience, I hardly boot into Windows now, but there are some things I miss, like the Bulk Rename Utility I used to have in Windows.

I use the program a lot when I boot into Windows but I'd prefer if there was an alternative or something similar cause the program had a plethora of renaming options with a decent gui.

I'm aware of the rename command in terminal, but I've never had any luck with it.

A screenshot of what it looks like:

Questions

• Is there an alternative of this program for Ubuntu?
• A great command line resource on how to get this done without a gui?

Solution 1:

But... But... You've already found the answer... rename really is the best thing since sliced bread. If you need some examples of it doing really cool things, I've written a few in my time here:

• Simple replacement (another example: Changing extensions)
• Zero-padding existing numbers
• Shunting existing parts of a filename around
• Rewriting entire directory structures
• Inserting the creation/modified date from each file

If you need specific help, ask and somebody here can deliver.

Failing that simple Bash scripting is an option in most cases.

_{Sidebar: I defy anybody to call rename or regular expressions complicated after you've seen the screenshot of Bulk Rename Utility. Holy balls, I almost forgot how ugly it was.}

Solution 2:

There is the Bulk Rename utility, which is part of Thunar, the default file manager of XFCE desktop environment (the one used by Xubuntu). Selecting multiple files in Thunar and selecting "rename" opens the tool, but it can also be started separately.

It has different options of action, which together may come close to those of the Windows tool.

This documentation may be of help.

Some details also here (mentioning other tools too).

If you prefer to use a different file manager, you may still use this tool. It cannot be installed separately from Thunar but the latter brings very few specific dependencies and can be installed easily. The tool can be started separately though, and can even be integrated as a custom menu action in other files managers like Dolphin and Nautilus.

Example for Dolphin: create the file ~/.local/share/kservices5/bulk-rename-thunar.desktop with these lines:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Service
ServiceTypes=KonqPopupMenu/Plugin
MimeType=all/all;
Actions=BulkRename;
X-KDE-StartupNotify=false
X-KDE-Priority=TopLevel

[Desktop Action BulkRename]
Name=Bulk Rename
Exec=thunar -B %U
Icon=dialog-information

Solution 3:

GPRename and pyRenamer are available in the repositories. Both are similar and easy to use, although pyRenamer is a dead project.