Rename directory from command line

In Renaming files from command line we saw how to rename files using Rename command.   We can use Rename command to rename directories too. See the syntax below.

Rename  dir_oldname  dir_newname

Example:

G:\data>mkdir dir1
G:\data>dir /b
dir1
G:\data>rename dir1 dir2
G:\data>dir /b
dir2
G:\data>

Note that, with rename command, we can’t move the files to another drive or directory. This command just renames the existing file/folder and does not create a new file.  That is why it does not accept full path for the target file name. If you try to do that you will get the error – “The syntax of the command is incorrect.”

Example:

C:\docs>ren 1.txt c:\docs\2.txt
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

The below rename command works fine.

C:\docs>ren c:\docs\1.txt 2.txt
C:\docs>dir /b
2.txt

We can also use ren (the short form of rename) for rename operations.  Both Ren and Rename refer to the same command.

This command can be used to rename files or directories on all Windows OS editions i.e Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7.