How to rename files on Mac without Finder or Automator
Open in Safari or Chrome on Mac
Works in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on any recent macOS version. No app to download, no Automator workflow to build, no terminal command to write. Drag files from Finder directly into the drop zone in your browser.
Go beyond Finder's rename options
Finder's Rename command adds a basic format, counter, or text. This tool adds date extraction, photo organization by date and sequence, invoice type detection, SEO lowercasing, and custom templates with {name}, {date}, and {n} placeholders.
Download ZIP, unzip into Finder
Download the renamed ZIP, double-click to unzip on Mac, and move the files back where they belong. Your originals are always untouched until you choose to replace them. Export a CSV if you need a before and after record for any project.
More file renaming tools for Mac users
Mac users who replaced Finder rename with this tool
"Finder's batch rename is fine for basic numbering but hopeless for anything involving dates or document types. This handles my whole workflow: iPhone HEIC photos get date and sequence names, PDF invoices get vendor and date, all in one pass from Safari."
Freelance Consultant"I used to write Automator workflows for batch renaming on Mac. This is so much simpler. Drag from Finder into the browser, pick Clean preset, done. It handles 500 files in the same time Automator takes to open. And no workflow to maintain."
Mac Developer"I shoot on both a Sony mirrorless and an iPhone. Sony gives me ARW files, iPhone gives me HEIC. Finder cannot handle them consistently. This tool takes the whole mixed batch, renames everything to Photo_YYYY-MM-DD_001 format, and the ZIP unzips perfectly."
Photographer"I design on a Mac and rename asset folders before every client delivery. The SEO Friendly preset turns Hero_Banner_FINAL_v2.png into hero-banner-final-v2.png. Works perfectly in Chrome and does hundreds of files without a hiccup."
UI Designer"Academic researcher here on a Mac. I archive PDFs, spreadsheets, and notes from every project. The Dates First preset with a study name prefix gives me YYYY-MM-DD_StudyName files that sort perfectly in Finder. Dramatically better than right-clicking files one by one."
Academic Researcher"I run an online shop from a Mac. Supplier images come named IMG_something or with Chinese character sequences. Drop them all in, apply the Product Images preset, and they come back as product-name-001.jpg ready for Shopify. Does it in Safari without any issues."
E-commerce Owner"I edit video on a Mac and rename project files after every edit session. The Professional preset keeps everything in Title_Case_Structured format across projects. No confusion about which version is current when all the names follow a consistent pattern."
Video Editor"My Downloads folder on Mac becomes unmanageable after a few weeks. I batch rename everything here monthly, invoice PDFs to Invoice_Vendor_Date, photos to Photo_Date_001, docs to something descriptive. Clean Finder in about two minutes total."
Freelancer"I teach design on Mac in a college lab. Students constantly have files named Untitled-1.psd or Document 3.pdf. I point them to this site on the first day and they can clean up their project files immediately without any software install on the lab machines."
Design Lecturer