Regex Batch Renamer - Raycast Extension

A powerful Raycast extension that allows you to create and manage multiple regex-based file and folder renaming jobs with batch processing capabilities.

Features

• 🔧 Multiple Rename Jobs: Create, edit, and manage multiple regex-based renaming jobs
• 📁 Batch Processing: Rename multiple files and folders at once
• 🎯 Regex Rules: Use powerful regular expressions with capture groups and flags
• 👁️ Preview Changes: See what changes will be made before applying them
• 📋 Execution History: Track and review past rename operations
• 🎬 Predefined Jobs: Includes useful presets like Slugify, and file cleanup
• ⚡ Finder Integration: Works seamlessly with selected files in Finder
• 🔄 Conflict Resolution: Automatically handles filename conflicts

Commands

1. Manage Rename Jobs

• Create new regex-based renaming jobs
• Edit existing jobs with multiple rules
• View detailed job information
• Duplicate and delete jobs
• Browse predefined job templates

2. Run Rename Job

• Select files/folders in Finder
• Choose a job to execute
• Preview changes before applying
• View execution results and history

3. Create New Rename Job

• Quick access to create a new renaming job
• Add multiple regex rules with find/replace patterns
• Set regex flags (g, i, m, etc.)
• Add descriptions for each rule

Predefined Jobs

Slugify Filenames

Converts filenames to URL-friendly slugs:

• Converts to lowercase
• Replaces spaces with hyphens
• Removes special characters
• Normalizes multiple hyphens

Example: My Important Document!.pdf → my-important-document.pdf

Clean Filenames

Removes common unwanted elements:

• Version numbers (v1.0, 2.1.3)
• Copy suffixes ((copy), (copy 1))
• Download numbers ((1), (2))
• Normalizes underscores and spaces

Example: document_v2.1 (copy 3).pdf → document.pdf

Usage

Creating a Custom Job

1. Open "Manage Rename Jobs"
2. Press Cmd+N or select "Create New Job"
3. Enter job details:
   • Name: Give your job a descriptive name
   • Description: Optional description of what the job does
4. Add regex rules:
   • Find Pattern: Enter a regular expression
   • Replace With: Enter replacement text (use $1, $2 for capture groups)
   • Flags: Set regex flags (g=global, i=case-insensitive, m=multiline)
   • Description: Describe what this rule does
5. Add multiple rules using Cmd+Plus
6. Save the job

Running a Job

1. Select files/folders in Finder
2. Open "Run Rename Job"
3. Choose a job from the list
4. Preview changes (Cmd+P) to see what will happen
5. Run the job to apply changes
6. View results and copy the change log to clipboard

Regex Examples

Basic Patterns

• \. - Matches literal dot
• \s+ - Matches one or more whitespace characters
• [0-9]{4} - Matches exactly 4 digits
• (.+) - Captures one or more characters
• ^The (.+)$ - Matches lines starting with "The "

Replacement Patterns

• $1 - First capture group
• $2 - Second capture group
• Empty field - Removes the matched text

Common Flags

• g - Global (replace all occurrences)
• i - Case-insensitive
• m - Multiline mode

Tips

• Test regex patterns on smaller batches first
• Use preview to verify changes before applying
• Backup important files before bulk operations
• Start simple and add complexity gradually
• Use capture groups ($1, $2) to preserve parts of filenames

Safety Features

• Conflict resolution: Automatically adds suffixes for duplicate names
• Validation: Validates regex patterns before saving
• Preview mode: See changes before applying them
• Execution history: Track what was changed and when
• Error handling: Graceful handling of permission issues and invalid patterns

Examples

Remove Version Numbers

• Find: \s*v?\d+\.\d+(\.\d+)?\s*
• Replace:
• Description: Remove version numbers like v1.0, 2.1.3

Extract Year from Filename

• Find: .*([0-9]{4}).*
• Replace: ($1)
• Description: Keep only the 4-digit year

Convert Camel Case to Kebab Case

• Find: ([a-z])([A-Z])
• Replace: $1-$2
• Flags: g
• Description: Convert camelCase to kebab-case

Development

Building

npm run build

Development Mode

npm run dev

Linting

npm run lint
npm run fix-lint

Technical Details

• Framework: Raycast API
• Language: TypeScript + React
• Storage: Local Storage for jobs and execution history
• File Operations: Node.js fs.promises
• Regex Engine: JavaScript RegExp