vidir

Edit filenames in editor

$ vidir

$ vidir [*.txt]

$ vidir [path/to/directory/]

$ EDITOR=[vim] vidir

$ vidir -v

vidir [-v] [files|directory]

vidir opens a list of filenames in a text editor, where each line contains a number and a filename. Editing the filenames renames the corresponding files, and deleting lines removes them. All changes are applied when you save and quit the editor.
This approach leverages familiar editor features like search-and-replace, macros, and multi-cursor editing for powerful batch renaming operations that would be tedious with individual mv commands.

-v, --verbose

Verbose output.

Files to edit.

Directory to edit.

EDITOR - Editor to use
VISUAL - Visual editor

Editor shows:

$ 1 file1.txt
2 file2.txt
3 old_name.doc

$ 1 document1.txt
2 document2.txt
3 new_name.doc

Part of moreutils package. Careful with deletions. Test on copies first.

vidir is part of moreutils by Joey Hess. It provides intuitive file renaming using familiar editor interfaces.

qmv(1), rename(1), mmv(1)