A preview-first desktop application for batch filename changes, based on the workflow of the classic Bulk Rename Utility. The interface is built with Avalonia and targets .NET 10.
- Browse folders and inspect names, sizes, types, and modified times.
- Preview text replacement (the Find field accepts
*as a wildcard), regular expressions, removing text (first/last n characters, a position range, characters, words, crop before/after text, digits, high characters, double spaces, accents, symbols, trimming and leading dots), case changes, fixed/prefixed/suffixed names, numbering, adding prefix/suffix/inserted text, appending parent folder names, and extension case changes. - Select individual entries or all entries; only checked items are changed.
- Use the small r button at the top right of any box (1–9) to reset that box to its startup defaults and refresh the preview. Other boxes and input history are left unchanged.
- Add creation, modification, access or current dates with 9 Auto Date. Mode offers None, Prefix, Suffix and Replace. at pos. = 0 uses Mode; a positive value overrides Mode and inserts the date at that 1-based position (1 means the beginning; positions beyond the name insert at the end). Set Mode to None and at pos. to 0 to disable the step. The extension is preserved. Choose a date/time preset, a separator between name and date, and a segment separator between preset components. Cent. uses four-digit rather than two-digit years; Off. shifts the date by positive or negative days.
- Hover over option controls in boxes 1-9 for descriptions of their behavior.
- Validate destinations before changes and stage items through temporary names to support safe swaps and restore original names if the operation fails.
Select Custom in Fmt, then enter a percent-token format such as
%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S. Supported tokens:
| Tokens | Meaning |
|---|---|
%Y, %y |
Four-digit / two-digit year |
%m, %d |
Two-digit month / day |
%H, %I, %M, %S, %p |
24-hour / 12-hour clock, minutes, seconds, AM/PM |
%a, %A |
Abbreviated / full weekday name |
%b, %h, %B |
Abbreviated / full month name |
%j, %w, %u |
Day of year; weekday (Sunday = 0 / Monday = 1, Sunday = 7) |
%F, %T, %R |
YYYY-MM-DD, HH:mm:ss, HH:mm |
%% |
Literal percent sign |
Custom formats control their own separators and year width; Seg. and
Cent. apply only to presets. Month/day names use invariant English.
Unsupported tokens and out-of-range offsets show a preview error. Filename
validation still applies (for example, / cannot appear in a Linux filename).
Auto Date runs after numbering, before extension changes. All entries use the same current local time for each preview; file timestamps are captured when the folder is loaded. Use Refresh to reload timestamps. Creation and access dates depend on filesystem support and OS reporting; Linux may report a fallback for creation time, and access times may be delayed or disabled by mount options. Missing metadata is reported as a preview error, not silently replaced with today. The previewed names are used when renaming.
Install the .NET 10 SDK, then run:
dotnet build BulkRenameUtility.sln --configuration Release
dotnet run --project src/BulkRenameUtility/BulkRenameUtility.csprojAvalonia uses X11/XWayland by default on Linux. Install the system's X11 runtime dependencies if the application does not start from a minimal environment.
All builds target x86_64 Linux and bundle the .NET runtime. Build each package on its target distribution, then attach the files from artifacts/ to a GitHub Release so the download links work. The scripts default to version 1.0.2; set VERSION to override it.
| Package | Build command | Local output path | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu (.deb) | bash packaging/debian/build-deb.sh |
artifacts/debian/bulk-rename-utility_1.0.2_amd64.deb |
Download .deb |
| Fedora (.rpm) | bash packaging/fedora/build-rpm.sh |
artifacts/fedora/bulk-rename-utility-1.0.2-1.x86_64.rpm |
Download .rpm |
| Arch Linux (.pkg.tar.gz) | bash packaging/arch/build-arch.sh |
artifacts/arch/bulk-rename-utility-1.0.2-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.gz |
Download Arch package |
| Flatpak | bash packaging/flatpak/build-flatpak.sh |
artifacts/flatpak/io.github.smapgit.bulkrenameutility.flatpak |
Download Flatpak |
Release asset names must match the file names above. The Flatpak build needs Flatpak Builder and the Freedesktop 26.08 SDK/runtime; its app listing is packaging/flatpak/io.github.smapgit.bulkrenameutility.metainfo.xml.
Build the Debian package, then run bash packaging/docker/build-docker.sh to create the local bulk-rename-utility:1.0.2 image with TigerVNC and a browser WebUI on port 6081. VNC authentication is optional; no-password access is unsafe on untrusted networks. To publish the image to GitHub Container Registry after creating a release with the .deb attached, run gh workflow run publish-docker.yml --repo SMAP-git/Bulk_Rename_Utility_Linux -f version=1.0.2, then pull ghcr.io/smap-git/bulk-rename-utility:1.0.2.
For Unraid, use the container template and see the Docker guide for mounts and network safety.
Use Language in the top menu to switch the interface. Language catalogs are
JSON files in src/BulkRenameUtility/Languages/, using the language set from
gMKVExtractGUI: German, Greek, English, Estonian, French, Hindi, Hungarian,
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese,
Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. The
catalogs include option tooltips and Auto Date labels in every supported language;
tests check for missing keys and changed format placeholders. The
selected language applies immediately and lasts for the current app session;
the app starts in English after restart.
.NET 10 is the better starting point for a new app: it is an LTS release supported until November 14, 2028, while .NET 8 support ends November 10, 2026. It gives this project a longer supported runway without changing the Avalonia GUI or Linux packaging approach. Linux packages bundle the .NET runtime, so users do not need to install .NET separately.
References:
The selected language and theme (Follow the system, Light or Dark) are saved in ~/.config/bulk-rename-utility/settings.json and restored on start.
Released into the public domain under The Unlicense.