How to Batch Rename Files on Mac

How to batch rename files on Mac: select them in Finder, right-click, choose Rename Items, then pick Replace Text, Add Text, or Format in the sheet.

1. Select every file you want renamed. Open the folder in the Finder and select the files. Click the first, then Shift-click the last for a contiguous run, or Command-click to pick scattered items. Command + A takes everything in the folder. The rename applies only to what is highlighted.
2. Open the Rename sheet. Right-click any of the selected files and choose Rename, which reads Rename 12 Items when twelve are selected. File > Rename Items in the menu bar does the same thing. A sheet drops down with one popup menu at the top offering Replace Text, Add Text, and Format.
3. Replace or add text across the batch. Choose Replace Text to swap one string for another in every selected name, and leave the Replace With field empty to delete that string outright. Choose Add Text to append or prepend a string, with the Where popup set to either before name or after name.
4. Number the files with Format. Choose Format, then set the Name Format popup to Name and Index, Name and Counter, or Name and Date. Type your base name into the Custom Format field, set Where to before name or after name, and set Start numbers at to whatever value you want.
5. Undo the whole batch if it lands wrong. Press Command + Z immediately after the rename and the Finder restores every original filename in one move. Edit > Undo Rename in the menu bar does the same. Do this before you click into another window or start any other file operation.
6. Know what Quick Actions actually does. Quick Actions is a separate submenu sitting in the same right-click menu. It holds Rotate Left, Markup, Create PDF, and Convert Image, plus anything you build in Automator or the Shortcuts app. It transforms files. It does not rename them.