detox

detox [options] file-or-directory...

detox cleans up filenames by replacing problematic characters with safe alternatives. It handles spaces, special characters, Unicode characters, and other elements that can cause issues in shell scripts or cross-platform file sharing.The tool applies configurable sequences of transformations including replacing spaces with underscores, removing or transliterating non-ASCII characters, and fixing case issues. Multiple built-in sequences handle different cleaning scenarios.detox is valuable for batch-processing files from Windows systems, music libraries with complex names, or any source with inconsistent naming conventions.

FILE

Files or directories to process.

Process directories recursively.

Show what would be renamed without changes.

Verbose output showing renames.

Cleaning sequence to use (default runs the safe and wipeup filters).

List the currently available sequences.

Work on links and special files too.

Use specified configuration file instead of the defaults.

Display help information.

/etc/detoxrc or ~/.detoxrc

Configuration file defining cleaning sequences and filename filters.

May create duplicate filenames requiring manual resolution. Irreversible without backups. Unicode transliteration may lose information. Some sequences are aggressive and may over-simplify names.

detox was written by Doug Harple to address the common problem of managing files with problematic names in Unix environments. It provides a systematic approach to filename sanitization.

rename(1), mv(1), convmv(1)

Source code