change-name

A CLI tool to replace names in a folder, including file/directory names and file contents.

Features

• Recursively renames files and directories
• Replaces names in text file contents
• Supports multiple case transformations:
  • camelCase
  • constantCase
  • headerCase
  • noCase
  • paramCase
  • pascalCase
  • pathCase
  • sentenceCase
  • snakeCase
  • capitalCase
  • dotCase
• Safety checks with .name file
• Interactive mode with --ask flag
• Validates that rename operations are idempotent

Installation

npm install -g change-name
# or
pnpm add -g change-name

Usage

Basic Usage

change-name <from> [to]

The to parameter defaults to the current directory name.

Safety Mechanism

By default, change-name requires a .name file to exist in the directory. This prevents accidental name changes. The .name file is automatically deleted after a successful rename operation if the changes are verified to be idempotent.

Options

• -a, --ask - Prompt user to provide a new name or confirm the default choice
• --unsafe - Skip the .name file check and change the name in all circumstances
• --only-once - Delete the .name file in every case, even if no issues found

Examples

# Change name from "myapp" to "yourapp"
change-name myapp yourapp

# Interactive mode - prompt for the new name
change-name myapp --ask

# Skip safety check (not recommended for production)
change-name myapp newname --unsafe

# Delete .name file even if issues found
change-name myapp newname --only-once

Use Case

This tool is particularly useful when:

• Forking or cloning a project template
• Renaming a project after initialization
• Bulk renaming identifiers across a codebase
• Standardizing naming conventions

How It Works

1. File Discovery: Recursively scans all files and directories (excluding .git and node_modules)
2. Name Transformation: Applies all case transformations to both file/directory names and file contents
3. Safety Validation: Performs a second pass to ensure all transformations are idempotent (i.e., running again produces no changes)
4. Cleanup: Deletes the .name file if all transformations are verified

Safety Checks

The tool performs safety checks to prevent destructive operations:

1. Requires a .name file (unless --unsafe is used)
2. Validates that rename operations are idempotent
3. Skips binary files to prevent corruption
4. Validates that new names match the pattern [0-9a-z\-_]

License

MIT