How do I install the Standardize Filenames skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add hosaypeng/standardize-filenames in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Standardize Filenames safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Standardize Filenames?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Standardize Filenames free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Standardize Filenames?

hosaypeng (@hosaypeng) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Standardize Filenames by hosaypeng — Agent Skill

Name: Standardize Filenames
Author: hosaypeng

Standardize Filenames

Instantly standardize all filenames in a directory to lowercase snake_case with YYYY-MM-DD dates. Use when user says 'fix filenames', 'standardize filenames', 'rename files to snake_case', 'clean up file names', or after downloading files that need consistent naming.

hosaypeng Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Filename Standardization

See ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/references/conventions.md for naming rules and examples.

Steps

1. Back up

If the target is a small directory (< a few hundred files), back up in place:

cp -r "<target_dir>" "<target_dir>_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"

For large directories (entire vault, downloads folder), back up to /tmp/ to avoid iCloud upload:

cp -r "<target_dir>" "/tmp/$(basename <target_dir>)_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"

2. Dry-run scan

If no directory was specified or the argument is all, use the current working directory:

bash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "." [--recursive] --dry-run

Otherwise use the provided path:

bash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "<target_dir>" [--recursive] --dry-run

3. Analyze directory context

The script handles mechanical transforms. The agent must also handle:

Detect dominant pattern: if >50% of files share a structure (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD_trust_statement.pdf), that's the directory convention. Outliers that don't match should be read to extract correct metadata and renamed to match.
Complex dates: month names, content-based dates from PDFs.
Noise removal: watermarks, website tags, redundant publisher names.
Semantic structuring: periodical vs book vs article conventions (see conventions.md).

Add any agent-identified renames to the plan manually.

4. Execute

bash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "<target_dir>" [--recursive] --execute

For manual renames beyond the script, use mv -n. All safety rules from global CLAUDE.md apply (two-pass for overlaps, stop on failure). Note: mv -n on macOS fails silently — verify source no longer exists after move.

5. Verify and report

Verify per global CLAUDE.md rules. Content-based renames: read every file and confirm content matches new name. Mismatch → restore from backup. Then print a concise summary of what was renamed.

6. Update wikilinks (Markdown vaults only)

If any renamed files are .md files inside an Obsidian vault, their old filenames may appear as [[wikilinks]] in other notes. After renaming, search for stale references:

grep -rF "[[OldFilename]]" <vault_dir> --include="*.md"

Update each occurrence, or run /update-dependencies to sweep the vault automatically.

---name: standardize-filenamesdescription: Instantly standardize all filenames in a directory to lowercase snake_case with YYYY-MM-DD dates. Use when user says 'fix filenames', 'standardize filenames', 'rename files to snake_case', 'clean up file names', or after downloading files that need consistent naming.---# Filename StandardizationSee `~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/references/conventions.md` for naming rules and examples.## Steps### 1. Back upIf the target is a small directory (< a few hundred files), back up in place:```bashcp -r "<target_dir>" "<target_dir>_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"```For large directories (entire vault, downloads folder), back up to `/tmp/` to avoid iCloud upload:```bashcp -r "<target_dir>" "/tmp/$(basename <target_dir>)_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"```### 2. Dry-run scanIf no directory was specified or the argument is `all`, use the current working directory:```bashbash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "." [--recursive] --dry-run```Otherwise use the provided path:```bashbash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "<target_dir>" [--recursive] --dry-run```### 3. Analyze directory contextThe script handles mechanical transforms. The agent must also handle:- **Detect dominant pattern**: if >50% of files share a structure (e.g., `YYYY-MM-DD_trust_statement.pdf`), that's the directory convention. Outliers that don't match should be read to extract correct metadata and renamed to match.- **Complex dates**: month names, content-based dates from PDFs.- **Noise removal**: watermarks, website tags, redundant publisher names.- **Semantic structuring**: periodical vs book vs article conventions (see conventions.md).Add any agent-identified renames to the plan manually.### 4. Execute```bashbash ~/.claude/skills/standardize-filenames/scripts/standardize.sh "<target_dir>" [--recursive] --execute```For manual renames beyond the script, use `mv -n`. All safety rules from global CLAUDE.md apply (two-pass for overlaps, stop on failure). Note: `mv -n` on macOS fails silently — verify source no longer exists after move.### 5. Verify and reportVerify per global CLAUDE.md rules. Content-based renames: read every file and confirm content matches new name. Mismatch → restore from backup. Then print a concise summary of what was renamed.### 6. Update wikilinks (Markdown vaults only)If any renamed files are `.md` files inside an Obsidian vault, their old filenames may appear as `[[wikilinks]]` in other notes. After renaming, search for stale references:```bashgrep -rF "[[OldFilename]]" <vault_dir> --include="*.md"```Update each occurrence, or run `/update-dependencies` to sweep the vault automatically.

Frequently asked questions