rename and shorten many files with bash

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Bash supports a surprising number of string manipulation functions.

For example if you want to get rid of the beginning of the name of a file or a folder on many files at a time you could do the following:

 
bash> ls
mylongfile1
mylongfile2
mylongfile3
mylongfile4
mylongfile5
mylongfile6
mylongfile7
 
bash> for i in *
> do
> mv $i ${i:6}
> done
bash> ls
file1
file2
file3
file4
file5
file6
file7
So to extract the end of a variable after a NUMBER of characters you just need to specify ${variable:NUMBER}
 
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Bash supports a surprising number of string manipulation functions.

For example if you want to get rid of the beginning of the name of a file or a folder on many files at a time you could do the following:

 
bash> ls
mylongfile1
mylongfile2
mylongfile3
mylongfile4
mylongfile5
mylongfile6
mylongfile7
 
bash> for i in *
> do
> mv $i ${i:6}
> done
bash> ls
file1
file2
file3
file4
file5
file6
file7
So to extract the end of a variable after a NUMBER of characters you just need to specify ${variable:NUMBER}
 

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By Marc Olivier Meunier

Marc has spent the past few years putting oil on the fire of a hyper growth ad tech company. At Smartly.io he was in charge of scaling the support and its culture. At Eficode he is now leading an engineering team and running operations. He leads by example and puts a lot of emphasis on diversity and inclusion, constantly working to create a safe environment. A warm leader with a passion for memorable experiences and innovation.
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