How to rename files in Python

Learn different ways to rename files in Python using the os and pathlib modules.

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Learn different ways to rename files in Python using the os and pathlib modules.

Rename files with os

You can use

os.rename(old_name, new_name)

For example we can combine it with os.path.splitext() to get the base name and file extension, and then combine it to a new name:

import os
for file in os.listdir():
    name, ext = os.path.splitext(file)
    new_name = f"{name}_new{ext}"
    os.rename(file, new_name)

Rename files with pathlib

The same could be achieved with the pathlib module and

Path.rename(new_name)

With a Path object we can access .stem and .suffix:

from pathlib import Path
for file in os.listdir():
    f = Path(file)
    new_name = f"{f.stem}_new{f.suffix}"
    f.rename(new_name)

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