Filtering and Ignore Rules

Renamify provides powerful filtering options to control exactly which files get processed during renaming operations.

Default Behavior (Respects .gitignore)

By default, Renamify respects standard ignore mechanisms:

• .gitignore files at all levels
• .git/info/exclude (repository-specific ignores)
• Global git ignore rules (~/.gitignore_global, etc.)
• .rgignore files (ripgrep-specific ignore files)
• Hidden files and directories are skipped (starting with .)

This means Renamify won’t process files in node_modules/, target/, .git/, etc. by default.

Unrestricted Mode

Use ripgrep-style unrestricted flags to reduce filtering:

-u (Unrestricted Level 1)

Disables .gitignore files but respects other ignore mechanisms:

renamify plan old_name new_name -u

• ✅ Processes files ignored by .gitignore
• ❌ Still respects .git/info/exclude and global git ignore
• ❌ Still skips hidden files
• ❌ Still skips binary files

-uu (Unrestricted Level 2)

Disables all ignore files and shows hidden files:

renamify plan old_name new_name -uu

• ✅ Processes all ignore files
• ✅ Shows hidden files and directories
• ❌ Still skips binary files

-uuu (Unrestricted Level 3)

Processes everything, including binary files:

renamify plan old_name new_name -uuu

• ✅ Processes all files
• ✅ Shows hidden files and directories
• ✅ Treats binary files as text (dangerous!)

⚠️ Warning: Level 3 can corrupt binary files. Use with extreme caution.

Include Patterns

Use glob patterns to specify exactly which files to process:

Single Pattern

# Only process Rust source files
renamify plan old_name new_name --include "**/*.rs"

# Only process files in src/ directory
renamify plan old_name new_name --include "src/**"

Multiple Patterns

# Process Rust and TypeScript files
renamify plan old_name new_name --include "**/*.rs,**/*.ts,**/*.tsx"

# Process specific directories
renamify plan old_name new_name --include "src/**,lib/**,tests/**"

Exclude Patterns

Skip specific files or directories:

Common Exclusions

# Exclude test files
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude "**/*test*"

# Exclude build outputs and dependencies
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude "target/**,node_modules/**,dist/**"

# Exclude specific file types
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude "**/*.min.js,**/*.bundle.js"

Combining Include and Exclude

# Process TypeScript files but skip tests and node_modules
renamify plan old_name new_name \
  --include "**/*.ts,**/*.tsx" \
  --exclude "**/*test*,node_modules/**"

Exclude Specific Matches

Use --exclude-match to skip specific compound words or identifiers that match your pattern but shouldn’t be changed:

# Skip specific compound words that contain your pattern
renamify plan foo bar --exclude-match bazFooQux,FooService

# Useful when a pattern accidentally matches unintended identifiers
renamify rename config settings --exclude-match ConfigurationManager

This is particularly useful when:

• Your pattern matches part of a larger compound word
• Certain identifiers contain your pattern but have different meanings
• You want to be very selective about what gets changed

Exclude Lines by Pattern

Use --exclude-matching-lines to filter out matches on lines that match a regex pattern. This is perfect for skipping comments, TODO markers, or any other line-level patterns:

Skip Comments

# Skip C-style comment lines (starting with //)
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '^//'

# Skip Python/Shell comment lines (starting with #)
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '^\s*#'

# Skip both // and /* style comments
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '^\s*(//|/\*)'

Skip TODO/FIXME Markers

# Skip lines containing TODO or FIXME
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '(TODO|FIXME)'

# Skip lines with any common code markers
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '(TODO|FIXME|HACK|NOTE|XXX)'

Skip Debug or Test Code

# Skip lines containing DEBUG
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines 'DEBUG'

# Skip console.log statements
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines 'console\.(log|debug|error)'

# Skip test assertions
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '(assert|expect|test|describe)\('

Advanced Patterns

# Skip Python linter directives
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '#.*(pylint|type:|noqa)'

# Skip JSDoc comments
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '^\s*\*'

# Skip lines with specific annotations
renamify plan old_name new_name --exclude-matching-lines '@(deprecated|internal|ignore)'

Important Notes

• The regex matches against the entire line containing the match
• Use ^ to match from the start of the line
• The pattern is case-sensitive by default
• Invalid regex patterns will cause an error before scanning begins

This feature is particularly useful when:

• You want to preserve comments that reference old names
• You have TODO items mentioning future renames
• You want to exclude matches in debug/logging code
• You need to skip matches in specific code annotations

Glob Pattern Syntax

Renamify uses standard glob patterns:

Pattern	Matches
*	Any filename (not directories)
**	Any number of directories
?	Single character
[abc]	Any character in brackets
[!abc]	Any character not in brackets
{a,b,c}	Any of the comma-separated alternatives

Examples

# All JavaScript files recursively
"**/*.js"

# All files in src/ and lib/ directories
"{src,lib}/**"

# TypeScript files but not declaration files
"**/*.ts" --exclude "**/*.d.ts"

# Files starting with 'test' or 'spec'
"**/{test,spec}*"

Binary File Handling

Renamify automatically detects and skips binary files by default:

Detection Methods

• File extension: .jpg, .png, .exe, etc.
• Content analysis: Checks for null bytes and non-UTF8 content
• Magic numbers: Recognizes common binary file headers

Override Binary Detection

# Force processing of all files (dangerous!)
renamify plan old_name new_name -uuu

# Include specific binary extensions (not recommended)
renamify plan old_name new_name --include "**/*.{bin,dat}"

Auto-Initialization

Renamify automatically prompts to ignore its workspace directory on first use:

Interactive Prompt

Renamify uses .renamify/ for plans, backups, and history.
Ignore it now?
  [Y] Repo .gitignore   [l] Local .git/info/exclude   [g] Global excludesfile   [n] No
Choice (Y/l/g/n):

Command-Line Control

# Automatically add to .gitignore without prompting
renamify --auto-init=repo plan old new

# Prevent any auto-initialization
renamify --no-auto-init plan old new

# Use -y for non-interactive environments (CI)
renamify -y plan old new

Performance Tips

Optimize Large Codebases

# Be specific with includes to avoid scanning unnecessary files
renamify plan old new --include "src/**/*.{js,ts,tsx}"

# Exclude large directories early
renamify plan old new --exclude "node_modules/**,target/**,.git/**"

Parallel Processing

Renamify automatically uses parallel directory traversal and file processing for optimal performance on large codebases.

Common Patterns

Frontend Projects

# React/TypeScript project
renamify rename oldName newName \
  --include "src/**/*.{ts,tsx,js,jsx}" \
  --exclude "**/*.test.*,**/__tests__/**,node_modules/**"

Rust Projects

# Rust project with tests
renamify rename old_name new_name \
  --include "**/*.rs" \
  --exclude "target/**"

Python Projects

# Python with tests in separate directory
renamify rename old_name new_name \
  --include "**/*.py" \
  --exclude "venv/**,__pycache__/**,*.pyc"

Documentation Only

# Only process markdown and text files
renamify rename old_name new_name \
  --include "**/*.{md,txt,rst}"