Timestamp-based Renaming: A script that renames files by adding a timestamp derived from their last modification time.

timestamp_renamer.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import os
import re
import argparse
from datetime import datetime

def timestamp_renamer(files, custom_prefix=None):
    for file_path in files:
        # Extract the file extension and convert it to lowercase
        _, ext = os.path.splitext(file_path)
        ext = ext[1:].lower()

        # Replace "jpeg" with "jpg"
        if ext == "jpeg":
            ext = "jpg"

        # If a custom prefix is provided, use it; otherwise, pick one based on the extension
        if custom_prefix:
            prefix = custom_prefix
        else:
            if ext == "png":
                prefix = "Screenshot_"
            elif ext in ["jpg", "heic"]:
                prefix = "Photo_"
            elif ext in ["mp4", "mov"]:
                prefix = "Video_"
            elif ext in ["mp3", "m4a"]:
                prefix = "Audio_"
            elif ext in ["pdf", "doc", "docx"]:
                prefix = "Document_"
            elif ext in ["csv", "xls", "xlsx"]:
                prefix = "Table_"
            elif ext in ["ppt", "pptx"]:
                prefix = "Slide_"
            elif ext == "html":
                prefix = "Webpage_"
            elif ext in ["txt", "rtf", "odt"]:
                prefix = "Text_"
            else:
                prefix = "File_"

        # Pattern to find any existing suffix in the filename
        pattern = r'_at_[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}\.[0-9]{2}(_[a-zA-Z0-9_]+)\.' + re.escape(ext)
        match = re.search(pattern, file_path)
        suffix = match.group(1) if match else ""

        # Get the timestamp of the file
        timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(os.path.getmtime(file_path)).strftime("%Y-%m-%d_at_%H.%M.%S")

        # Generate the new name and check for collisions
        new_name = f"{prefix}{timestamp}{suffix}.{ext}"
        if file_path != new_name:
            count = 2
            while os.path.exists(new_name):
                new_name = f"{prefix}{timestamp}{suffix}_{count}.{ext}"
                count += 1

        # Rename the file
        os.rename(file_path, new_name)
        print(f"Renamed {file_path} to {new_name}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Initialize argparse for command-line options
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Rename files to include their modification timestamp.")
    parser.add_argument("files", metavar="FILE", type=str, nargs="+", help="one or more files to rename")
    parser.add_argument(
        "--prefix", "-p",
        type=str,
        default=None,
        help="Custom prefix to use for the renamed files (overrides extension-based prefix)."
    )

    # Parse the command-line arguments
    args = parser.parse_args()

    # Call the function with the parsed arguments
    timestamp_renamer(args.files, custom_prefix=args.prefix)