Rename Multiple Video Files at Once

Windows File Explorer: The F2 Trick

The fastest way to rename a batch of videos on Windows needs no downloads at all. Open the folder, select every clip you want to rename (click the first one, then Ctrl+A for all of them, or Shift+click to grab a range), press F2, type a single base name such as Vacation, and press Enter. Windows applies that name to the whole selection and appends a counter automatically, so you get Vacation (1).mp4, Vacation (2).mp4, Vacation (3).mp4, and so on. The extension is preserved untouched, which is exactly what you want with video.

This is the right tool when all you need is clean sequential numbering. It cannot find and replace text, it cannot read anything about the file, and the numbering format (a space and parentheses) is fixed. But for turning a dozen anonymous camera files into a tidy numbered set in about ten seconds, nothing beats it. A folder of MOV_0012.mp4, MOV_0013.mp4, and MOV_0014.mp4 becomes Italy_Trip_Day1_01.mp4 style order in one keystroke, give or take the counter format.

PowerToys PowerRename: Find, Replace, and Enumerate

When you need more control than F2 gives, Microsoft PowerToys is a free official add-on that includes PowerRename. Once it is installed, select your video files, right click, and choose PowerRename from the menu. You get a search box and a replace box with a live preview of every new name before you commit, so you can see exactly what will change.

PowerRename shines at find-and-replace jobs across a batch. If a hundred clips all start with the prefix VID_ from your phone, you can strip it out in one pass, or swap it for something meaningful like Wedding_. Tick the regular expressions option and you can match patterns rather than fixed text, and the enumerate feature (${padding=2}) adds zero-padded counters so you get 01, 02, 03 instead of 1, 2, 3, which keeps files sorting correctly. A set named VID_20240612_clip.mp4 can become Wedding_Ceremony_01.mp4 across the whole folder, with the preview confirming each result before anything is written to disk. PowerRename does not read video metadata, but for text surgery on filenames it is the most convenient free option on Windows.

Advanced Renamer: The Standout for Video Metadata

Here is the tool that separates video renaming from renaming any other kind of file. Advanced Renamer is free for personal use and, unlike the options above, it genuinely reads the technical metadata embedded in a video file. That means it can pull the resolution, codec, duration, frame rate, and even the recorded date directly out of each clip and drop those values into the filename using tag placeholders.

You build a naming rule out of tags such as <Video Width>, <Video Height>, <Video Codec>, and <Video Frames Per Second>, combine them with your own text and an incrementing counter, and Advanced Renamer shows a full preview column before applying anything. This is what makes it the standout for a video library. An action camera file named GX010042.MP4 can become Dive_Reef_1080p_01.mp4, where the 1080p is not typed by hand but read straight from the file. Sort a mixed folder into 4K and 1080p groups, tag clips by frame rate to separate your 60fps slow-motion from your 24fps footage, or stamp the capture date into every name so the files sort chronologically no matter what the camera called them. For anyone organizing footage where the technical specs actually matter, this metadata awareness is the feature the other free tools simply do not have.

Bulk Rename Utility: Built for Heavy Batches

When the batch is genuinely large, hundreds or thousands of clips, Bulk Rename Utility is the free Windows workhorse. Its interface is dense, with every renaming operation laid out as a separate panel: remove characters, insert text, replace, add numbering, change case, and adjust the extension, all applied in a defined order with a live preview grid underneath.

The learning curve is steeper than PowerRename, but the payoff is precision at scale. You can chain several operations in one pass, for example strip a camera prefix, insert a project code, then append a zero-padded counter, and process the entire folder in a single click. It does not read video metadata the way Advanced Renamer does, but for sheer throughput on a big archive of clips that just need consistent, rule-based names, it handles the volume without complaint.

macOS: Finder and the Command Line

Mac users have a capable renamer built right into Finder. Select your video files, right click, and choose Rename X Items. The dialog offers three modes, and Format is the one for batch numbering: set a custom base name, choose a counter or an index, pick a starting number, and Finder rewrites the whole selection to something like Trip_Video_01.mov, Trip_Video_02.mov, and onward. There is also a Replace Text mode for swapping a common prefix or suffix across every selected file. The extension is left alone in every mode.

For anything scripted or repeatable, the command line is there too. A one line loop such as a=1; for f in *.mp4; do mv "$f" "$(printf 'Beach_%02d.mp4' $a)"; a=$((a+1)); done renames every mp4 in the folder with a zero-padded counter, and the rename utility (available through Homebrew) supports regular expressions for pattern based batches. The command line has no preview, so test on a copy first, but it is unbeatable when you want to rename the same way across many folders without clicking through a dialog each time.

Comparing the Tools for Video

The five approaches above overlap, but each has a job it does best. This table lines them up on the factors that matter specifically for video files, so you can pick the right one for the batch in front of you.

Video-Specific Concerns You Cannot Ignore

Renaming video is not quite the same as renaming photos or documents, and a few things deserve special attention before you run a batch.

First, protect the extension. A video file is only playable if its extension matches its container format, so an mp4 must stay .mp4 and a QuickTime file must stay .mov. Every tool covered here preserves the extension by default when you rename only the name portion, but if you ever use a replace operation that could touch the end of the filename, double check the preview so you do not accidentally turn Clip.mp4 into Clip.m4 or strip the dot entirely. A file without its correct extension will not open, even though the underlying video is perfectly intact.

Second, lean on metadata when the technical details matter. If you are archiving footage where resolution, frame rate, or codec is meaningful, a metadata aware tool like Advanced Renamer saves you from opening each file to check. Naming a clip Dive_Reef_1080p_60fps_01.mp4 from values read out of the file is far more reliable than typing them from memory, and it makes the whole library searchable and sortable by spec.

Third, handle TV libraries with a season and episode pattern. Media servers like Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby expect episode files in the standard S01E01 form, for example Show.Name.S01E01.mkv, so they can match each file to the correct episode. For large TV collections, a dedicated tool such as FileBot specializes in this and can look up episode titles automatically. But you do not strictly need it: any pattern renamer that supports a counter and custom text can produce a clean S01E01, S01E02, S01E03 sequence from a template, as long as the files are already in the right order. A folder of Episode1.mkv, Episode2.mkv, Episode3.mkv becomes Breaking_Point_S01E01.mkv, Breaking_Point_S01E02.mkv, and so on in a single batch.

One honest note on tools while we are here. Renamer.ai reads document and image content, not video or audio, so for video files the native tools and pattern renamers above are the right choice. This page is part of our bulk rename guides collected under the bulk rename software hub, and for video the options covered here are what you want.