renamer/docs/cli-flags.md

CLI Scope Flags

Renamer shares a consistent set of scope flags across every command that inspects or mutates the filesystem. Use these options at the root command level so they apply to all subcommands (list, replace, insert, remove, etc.).

Flag	Default	Description
--path	.	Working directory root for traversal.
-r, --recursive	false	Traverse subdirectories depth-first. Symlinked directories are not followed.
-d, --include-dirs	false	Include directories in results.
-e, --extensions	(none)	Pipe-separated list of file extensions (e.g. `.jpg
--hidden	false	Include dot-prefixed files and directories. By default they are excluded from listings and rename previews.
--yes	false	Apply changes without interactive confirmation (mutating commands only).
--dry-run	false	Force preview-only behavior even when --yes is supplied.
--format	table	Command-specific output formatting option. For list, use table or plain.

Regex Command Quick Reference

renamer regex <pattern> <template> [flags]

• Patterns compile with Go’s RE2 engine and are matched against filename stems; invalid expressions fail fast with helpful errors.
• Templates support numbered placeholders (@0, @1, …) along with escaped @@ for literal at-signs; undefined captures block the run.
• Preview mode (--dry-run, default) renders the rename plan with change/skipped/conflict statuses; apply with --yes writes a ledger entry for undo.
• Scope flags (--path, -r, -d, --hidden, --extensions) control candidate discovery just like other commands, and conflicts or empty targets exit non-zero.

Usage Examples

• Preview captured group swapping: renamer regex "^(\w+)-(\d+)" "@2_@1" --dry-run --path ./samples
• Limit by extensions and directories: renamer regex '^(build)_(\d+)_v(.*)$' 'release-@2-@1-v@3' --extensions .zip|.tar.gz --include-dirs --recursive
• Automation-friendly apply with undo: renamer regex '^(feature)-(.*)$' '@2-@1' --yes --path ./staging && renamer undo --path ./staging

Insert Command Quick Reference

renamer insert <position> <text> [flags]

• Position tokens:
  • ^ inserts at the beginning of the filename. Append a number (^3 or just 3) to insert after the third rune of the stem.
  • $ inserts immediately before the extension dot (or end if no extension). Append a number (1$) to count backward from the end of the stem (e.g., 1$ inserts before the final rune).
• Text must be valid UTF-8 without path separators or control characters; Unicode characters are supported.
• Scope flags (--path, -r, -d, --hidden, --extensions) limit the candidate set before insertion.
• --dry-run previews the plan; rerun with --yes to apply the same operations.

Usage Examples

• Preview adding a prefix: renamer insert ^ "[2025] " --dry-run
• Append before extension: renamer insert $ _ARCHIVE --yes --path ./docs
• Insert before the final character: renamer insert 1$ _TAIL --path ./images --dry-run
• Insert after third character in stem: renamer insert 3 _tag --path ./images --dry-run
• Combine with extension filter: renamer insert ^ "v1_" --extensions .txt|.md

Remove Command Quick Reference

renamer remove <token1> [token2 ...] [flags]

• Removal tokens are evaluated in the order supplied. Each token deletes literal substrings from the current filename before the next token runs; results are previewed before any filesystem changes.
• Duplicate tokens are deduplicated automatically and surfaced as warnings so users can adjust scripts without surprises.
• Tokens that collapse a filename to an empty string are skipped with warnings during preview/apply to protect against accidental deletion.
• All scope flags (--path, -r, -d, --hidden, -e) apply, making it easy to target directories, recurse, and limit removals by extension.
• Use --dry-run for automation previews and combine with --yes to apply unattended; conflicting combinations (--dry-run --yes) exit with an error to uphold preview-first safety.

Usage Examples

• Preview sequential removals: renamer remove " copy" " draft" --dry-run
• Remove tokens recursively: renamer remove foo foo- --recursive --path ./reports
• Combine with extension filters: renamer remove " Project" --extensions .txt|.md --dry-run

Extension Command Quick Reference

renamer extension <source-ext...> <target-ext> [flags]

• Provide one or more dot-prefixed source extensions followed by the target extension. Validation fails if any token omits the leading dot or repeats the target exactly.
• Source extensions are normalized case-insensitively; duplicates and no-op tokens are surfaced as warnings in the preview rather than silently ignored.
• Case variants of the target extension (for example .JPG when targeting .jpg) remain untouched unless you include them in the source list, ensuring casing changes happen only when explicitly requested.
• Preview output lists every candidate with changed, no change, or skipped status so scripts can detect conflicts before applying. Conflicting targets block apply and exit with a non-zero code.
• Scope flags (--path, -r, -d, --hidden, --extensions) determine which files and directories participate. Hidden assets remain excluded unless --hidden is supplied.
• --dry-run (default) prints the plan without touching the filesystem. Re-run with --yes to apply; attempting to combine both flags exits with an error. When no files match, the command exits 0 after printing “No candidates found.”

Usage Examples

• Preview normalization: renamer extension .jpeg .JPG .jpg --dry-run
• Apply case-folded extension updates: renamer extension .yaml .yml .yml --yes --path ./configs
• Include hidden assets recursively: renamer extension .TMP .tmp --recursive --hidden