How to Rename Multiple Folders in Linux from the Command Line

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: util-linux rename on AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 and 10 and RHEL 9 and 10; Perl rename on Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 and Debian 13; bash on all

Renaming many folders (or files) by hand is slow and error-prone. Linux has a rename command for this, but two different programs share that name, with different syntax. Check which one you have first. We tested both versions below, on AlmaLinux 9 and Ubuntu 24.04.

Which rename do you have?

rename --version

• Output mentioning util-linux: the simple version, standard on AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and RHEL.
• Output mentioning File::Rename or Perl: the Perl version, from the rename package on Ubuntu and Debian (apt install rename).

util-linux rename (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, RHEL)

Syntax: rename FROM TO FILES. It replaces the first occurrence of the text FROM in each name.

rename -n backup archive backup*     # preview: show what would happen
rename -v backup archive backup*     # do it and show each change

"backup 2024" becomes "archive 2024". On version 10 (util-linux 2.40), -a replaces every occurrence in a name and -l only the last one; version 9 (util-linux 2.37) does not have these options.

Perl rename (Ubuntu, Debian)

It takes a Perl expression, which allows much more:

rename -n 's/backup/archive/' backup*     # preview
rename 's/ /_/g' *                          # spaces to underscores
rename 'y/A-Z/a-z/' *                       # upper case to lower case
rename 's/^/2026-/' *                       # add a prefix

Without rename: a bash loop

This works everywhere and handles spaces in names safely:

for d in backup*/; do
  d=${d%/}
  mv -v -- "$d" "${d/backup/archive}"
done

backup*/ matches only folders. Test such a loop first by putting echo in front of mv.

Rename folders in all subfolders

find /data -depth -type d -name '*old*' -execdir rename -v old new {} +

-depth renames the deepest folders first, so the paths of the others stay valid while find works. With the Perl version, write -execdir rename 's/old/new/' {} + instead.

Tips

• Always preview with -n (or echo) first.
• If two names would become the same, the util-linux version overwrites the target unless you add -o; the Perl version refuses unless you add -f. Check the preview for clashes.

Official documentation: rename manual page (util-linux) and rename (Perl) manual page.