rn (Rename) command

Renames files in archive.

Syntax

rn <archive_name> <src_file_1> <dest_file_1> [ <src_file_2> <dest_file_2> ... ]

Example

7z rn a.7z old.txt new.txt 2.txt folder\2new.txt

renames old.txt to new.txt and 2.txt to folder\2new.txt .

Notes

Switches that can be used with this command

-i (Include)
-m (Method)
-p (Set Password)
-r (Recurse)
-stl (Set archive timestamp from the most recently modified file)
-u (Update)
-w (Working Dir)
-x (Exclude)

Notes from this site

Not part of the 7-Zip manual. Written by this site; examples checked with 7-Zip 26.04.

Quick examples

The official Linux and macOS console binary is 7zz. On Linux and macOS write folder paths with /.

7zz rn a.7z old.txt new.txt
7zz rn a.7z 2.txt folder/2new.txt           # move into a folder
7zz rn a.7z oldfolder newfolder
7zz rn a.7z "old name.txt" "new name.txt"   # quote names with spaces
7zz rn -pSECRET a.7z old.txt new.txt        # needed when file names are encrypted

Check the result with 7zz l a.7z. Case-only renames and adding a root folder (f/d.log to v1/f/d.log) work. Archives that encrypt only contents (no -mhe) can be renamed without the password.

The vendor example folder\2new.txt is the Windows form (7z rn a.7z 2.txt folder\2new.txt). On Linux and macOS a backslash becomes part of the name: the entry is literally called folder\2new.txt and no folder is created.

How do I rename many files at once?

Wildcards are rejected, so build the name pairs from the listing. This renames every .txt to .md:

args=()
while IFS= read -r p; do args+=("$p" "${p%.txt}.md"); done < <(
  7zz l -slt -ba a.7z | sed -n 's/^Path = \(.*\.txt\)$/\1/p')
7zz rn a.7z "${args[@]}"

How it behaves

Arguments come in pairs: old name, new name, as stored in the archive (see 7z l).
Renaming a folder entry renames everything under it. Renaming to a path with a new folder part moves the file there.
It works on formats 7-Zip can write (tested: 7z, zip, tar), not on .rar.
The whole archive is rewritten, so keep a copy; solid 7z archives take longer. For a big archive, -w chooses where the temporary file goes.

How do I rename inside a .tar.gz?

7zz x t.tgz                     # gives t.tar
7zz rn t.tar f/a.txt f/z.txt
7zz a -tgzip t.tgz t.tar        # recompress, replacing t.tgz

Common mistakes

Wildcards: 7zz rn a.7z '*.txt' x.txt fails with "Unsupported rename command" (exit code 7). Rename one name at a time.
Renaming onto a name that already exists does not fail and does not overwrite: the archive then holds two entries with that name. Check with 7zz l first.
Renaming inside a .tar.gz fails. Unpack the .tar layer, rename there, and compress again (see "How do I rename inside a .tar.gz?" above).
An odd number of names stops with "There is no second file name for rename pair" (exit code 7).

u (Update), d (Delete), l (List)