CODEWITHSUNDEEP
linuxfilesystemsrename
Trizuz
Trizuz

Reputation: 15

Rename fails but does work with -n (no action) option

Im trying to rename some files with the format Week_XX_2018-XX-XX_-_2018-XX-XX.md to Week_XX_2018-XX-XX/2018-XX-XX.md. So changing _-_ to /.

I tried to use rename and first tested it with the -n option. This works fine and shows something like this for all the files:

$ rename -n 's/_-_/\//g' *
rename(Week_01_2018-12-03_-_2018-12-09.md, Week_01_2018-12-03/2018-12-09.md)
...

However, when executed without the -noption the command fails. It says

Can't rename Week_01_2018-12-03_-_2018-12-19.md Week_01_2018-12-03/2018-12-09: No such file or directory

Why does this happen? How can the test of the command work but not the actual command?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 93

Answers (1)

ypnos
ypnos

Reputation: 52317

The character '/' is special as it is used as path delimiter. See Is it possible to use "/" in a filename? for a more detailed answer on why your rename fails.

Upvotes: 1

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