How to rename files in Python

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

os.rename

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)

pathlib

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)

shutil.move

The shutil module offers a number of high-level operations on files and collections of files. In particular, functions are provided which support file copying and removal. For operations on individual files, see also the os module.

import shutil

old_source = '/Users/r/Desktop/old_source.txt'
new_source = '/Users/r/Desktop/new_source.txt'

newFileName = shutil.move(old_source, new_source)

print("New file:", newFileName)
# New file: /Users/r/Desktop/new_source.txt