NAME

perlmv - Rename/move files using Perl code

VERSION

This document describes version 0.608 of perlmv (from Perl distribution App-perlmv), released on 2023-07-15.

SYNOPSIS

Usage:

# Show help
perlmv -h

# Execute a single scriptlet
perlmv [options] <scriptlet> <file...>

# Execute code from command line
perlmv [options] -e <code> <file...>

# Execute multiple scriptlets/command-line codes
perlmv [options] [ -x <scriptlet> | -e <code> ]+ <file...>

# Create a new scriptlet
perlmv -e <code> -w <name>

# List available scriptlets
perlmv -l

# Show source code of a scriptlet
perlmv -s <name>

# Delete scriptlet
perlmv -d <name>

Usage examples

$ ls -1
A.txt
B1
c2.txt
D3.pl
D4.pl

Rename files with prewritten scriptlet (remove-common-prefix) and show (-v) each file as it is being renamed.

$ perlmv -v remove-common-prefix file1.jpg file2.zip files.txt
`file1.jpg` -> `1.jpg`
`file2.zip` -> `2.zip`
`files.txt` -> `s.txt`

Specify script in command line (-e) but do not actually move files (-d, dry-run mode):

$ perlmv -de 's/\d+//g' *
DRYRUN: `B1` -> `B`
DRYRUN: `c2.txt` -> `c.txt`
DRYRUN: `D3.pl` -> `D.pl`
DRYRUN: `D4.pl` -> `D.pl.1`

Really rename the files this time:

$ perlmv -e 's/\d+//g' *

Execute multiple scriptlets and/or command-line code:

$ ls -1
a.txt
b.html
c.ini

$ perlmv -vx to-number-ext -e '"file$_"' *
`a.txt` -> `1.txt` -> `file1.txt`
`b.html` -> `2.html` -> `file2.html`
`c.ini` -> `3.ini` -> `file3.ini`

Save Perl code as scriptlet (in ~/.perlmv/scriptlets/):

$ perlmv -e 's/\d+//g' -w remove-digits

List all scriptlets (add -v to also show their contents):

$ perlmv -l
lc
uc
remove-digits

Show (-s) source code of scriptlet:

$ perlmv -s remove-digits
s/\d+//g

Remove (-D) scriptlet:

$ perlmv -D remove-digits

More examples

From my real-world usage.

Rename .flv partial files from my Firefox browser cache into ordered names (part01.flv, part02.flv, and so on):

$ ls --sort=t -r *01 | xargs perlmv -Tdx to-number-ext -e '"part$_.flv"'
DRYRUN: `15D9F85Ad01` -> `01` -> `part01.flv`
DRYRUN: `FF8EB240d01` -> `02` -> `part02.flv`
DRYRUN: `9031E9A8d01` -> `03` -> `part03.flv`
...

DESCRIPTION

Perlmv lets you rename/move files using Perl code. All the Perl code needs to do is modify the filename in $_ (or just return a value) and perlmv will do the rest (actual renaming, recursive renaming, handling filename conflicts, dry-run mode, etc.).

New filename will be taken from the new value of $_ (if it is modified) or the last expression. So '$_ = lc' and 'lc' are equivalent.

The following variables are also available to the Perl code:

$PERLMV (object)

The App::perlmv object. No matter what CLI is being run (perlmv, perlrename, perlcp, ...) the variable is still $PERLMV. Can be used to get various settings. The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$FILES (arrayref)

The list of items to be processed. The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$FILE (string)

The filename of item (without path). The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$FILENUM (int)

The index of $FILES currently being processed (starting from 0). The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$DIR (string)

The directory of item (absolute path). The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$PARENT (string)

The name of parent (containing) directory of the item (without path). The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.
$ARGS (hashref)

This are arguments specified by user via the -a (--arg option), e.g. -a foo=1 -a bar=2 will cause this variable to have the value of {foo=>1, bar=>2}.

The Perl code is not supposed to modify this value.

Perl code will first be run (eval-ed) once at the beginning for testing, with -TEST as the filename in $_ (and $TESTING will be set to true). Perl code is not run under strict/warnings. Perl code is run under App::perlmv::code namespace.

When using the App::perlmv library, there is also the the so-called cleaning phase (in which Perl code will be run with $CLEANING set to true) that can be used for cleaning purposes in between runs. This is however irrelevant to perlmv command as there is only a single run.

Perl code can be specified directly from the command line (using -e), or (in order of precedence from the highest) by name in ~/.perlmv/scriptlets/NAME, or in /usr/share/perlmv/scriptlets/, or in %scriptlets in App::perlmv::scriptlets, or in %scriptlets in App::perlmv::scriptlets::std, or in $SCRIPTLET in App::perlmv::scriptlet::* (for examples see App::perlmv::scriptlet::rename_common_prefix and App::perlmv::scriptlet::rename_common_suffix).

BUGS/TODOS

Patches for Windows welcome.
Scriptlet should be able to receive arguments.

OPTIONS

-c  (--compile) Only test compile code, do not run it on the arguments
-D <NAME> (--delete) Delete scriptlet
-d  (--dry-run) Dry-run (implies -v)
-e <CODE> (--execute) Specify Perl code to rename file (\$_). Can be specified
    multiple times.
-f  (--files) Only process files, do not process directories
-h  (--help) Show this help
-l  (--list) list all scriptlets
-M <MODE> (--mode) Specify mode, default is 'rename' (or 'r'). Use 'copy' or
    'c' to copy instead of rename, 'symlink' or 's' to create a symbolic link,
    and 'link' or 'l' to create a (hard) link.
-N  (--no-dry-run) Turn off dry-run mode.
-o  (--overwrite) Overwrite (by default, ".1", ".2", and so on will be appended
    to avoid overwriting existing files)
-p  (--parents) Create intermediate directories
-R  (--recursive) Recursive
-r  (--reverse) reverse order of processing (by default asciibetically)
-S  (--no-symlinks) Do not process symlinks
-s <NAME> (--show) Show source code for scriptlet
-T  (--no-sort) do not sort files (default is sort ascibetically)
-V  (--version) Print version and exit
-v  (--verbose) Verbose
-w <NAME> (--write) Write code specified in -e as scriptlet
-x <NAME> Execute a scriptlet. Can be specified multiple times. -x is optional
    if there is only one scriptlet to execute, and scriptlet name is specified
    as the first argument, and there is no -e specified.
-a <arg=value> (--arg) Supply arguments for code/scriptlet.

Details on some options:

-N, --no-dry-run

This turns off the dry-run mode. Useful if you have a shell alias or wrapper that uses -d to turn on dry-run mode by default (for safety) and you want to override by specifying -N after.

COMPLETION

This script has shell tab completion capability with support for several shells.

bash

To activate bash completion for this script, put:

complete -C perlmv perlmv

in your bash startup (e.g. ~/.bashrc). Your next shell session will then recognize tab completion for the command. Or, you can also directly execute the line above in your shell to activate immediately.

It is recommended, however, that you install modules using cpanm-shcompgen which can activate shell completion for scripts immediately.

tcsh

To activate tcsh completion for this script, put:

complete perlmv 'p/*/`perlmv`/'

in your tcsh startup (e.g. ~/.tcshrc). Your next shell session will then recognize tab completion for the command. Or, you can also directly execute the line above in your shell to activate immediately.

It is also recommended to install shcompgen (see above).

other shells

For fish and zsh, install shcompgen as described above.

FAQ

How is perlmv different from other similar solutions?

Compared to rename from File::Rename, perlmv offers scriptlets, recursive mode, automatic renaming in case of conflicts. Instead of rename, you can also link, symlink, or copy.

pmv from File::PerlMove also allows linking/symlinking instead of rename, but it does not have recursive mode or scriptlets.

HOMEPAGE

Please visit the project's homepage at https://metacpan.org/release/App-perlmv.

SOURCE

Source repository is at https://github.com/perlancar/perl-App-perlmv.

AUTHOR

perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>

CONTRIBUTING

To contribute, you can send patches by email/via RT, or send pull requests on GitHub.

Most of the time, you don't need to build the distribution yourself. You can simply modify the code, then test via:

% prove -l

If you want to build the distribution (e.g. to try to install it locally on your system), you can install Dist::Zilla, Dist::Zilla::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, Pod::Weaver::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, and sometimes one or two other Dist::Zilla- and/or Pod::Weaver plugins. Any additional steps required beyond that are considered a bug and can be reported to me.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website https://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=App-perlmv

When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.

To install App::perlmv, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.

cpanm

cpanm App::perlmv

CPAN shell

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install App::perlmv

For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.

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