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Path Renaming Options

Path renaming options allow you to restructure your repository by renaming or moving files and directories throughout history.
Path renaming does NOT select paths - it only renames paths that are selected by filter options. You need both filter AND rename options for most use cases.

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Basic Path Renaming

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—path-rename

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--path-rename
string
Rename paths matching OLD_NAME to NEW_NAME.Format: OLD_NAME:NEW_NAMEAliases: --path-rename-matchMultiple: Yes - can be specified multiple timesApplies to: Both files and directoriesTrailing slashes: Optional for directoriesBasic examples:
# Rename a directory
git filter-repo --path-rename old-dir/:new-dir/

# Rename a file
git filter-repo --path-rename old-name.txt:new-name.txt

# Move to subdirectory
git filter-repo --path-rename src/:lib/src/

# Move from subdirectory to root
git filter-repo --path-rename subdir/file.txt:file.txt

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Rename Patterns

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Moving to Root

# Make subdirectory the new root
git filter-repo --path-rename mysubdir/:
The colon (:) with nothing after it means “move to root”.

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Moving from Root

# Move everything to a subdirectory
git filter-repo --path-rename :newsubdir/
The colon (:) with nothing before it means “apply to root”.

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Multiple Renames

# Rename and merge multiple directories
git filter-repo \
  --path-rename cmds/:tools/ \
  --path-rename src/scripts/:tools/
Both cmds/ and src/scripts/ are renamed to tools/.

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Handling Collisions

If renaming causes path collisions, rename one first: 
# Avoid collision by renaming one file differently
git filter-repo \
  --path-rename cmds/run.sh:tools/do_release.sh \
  --path-rename cmds/:tools/ \
  --path-rename src/scripts/:tools/

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Common Use Cases

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Extract Subdirectory as Project Root

Using shortcut: 
git filter-repo --subdirectory-filter mysubdir/
Equivalent long form: 
git filter-repo --path mysubdir/ --path-rename mysubdir/:

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Move Project to Subdirectory

Using shortcut: 
git filter-repo --to-subdirectory-filter myproject/
Equivalent long form: 
git filter-repo --path-rename :myproject/
The long form requires understanding that : means root level.

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Merge Two Directories

git filter-repo --path-rename old-api/:api/ --path-rename new-api/:api/
Both directories are merged into api/.

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Reorganize Directory Structure

git filter-repo \
  --path-rename src/:lib/ \
  --path-rename tests/:test/ \
  --path-rename doc/:docs/

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Rename and Filter

# Keep only two directories and rename them
git filter-repo \
  --path src/main/ \
  --path src/utils/ \
  --path-rename src/main/:app/ \
  --path-rename src/utils/:lib/
Order matters! Filters must select paths in their FINAL names after renames:
# Correct - filter uses final name
git filter-repo --path-rename old/:new/ --path new/

# Wrong - new/ doesn't exist when filter runs
git filter-repo --path new/ --path-rename old/:new/

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Advanced Renaming

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Conditional Renaming with Callbacks

For complex renaming logic, use --filename-callback: 
git filter-repo --filename-callback '
  if filename.startswith(b"old/"):
    return b"new/" + filename[4:]
  return filename
'
Learn more about callbacks →

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Regex-Based Renaming

Use --paths-from-file with regex for pattern-based renaming: Create paths.txt: 
regex:^old-(.*)/==new-\1/
regex:^src/v([0-9]+)/==src/version-\1/
Apply renames: 
git filter-repo --paths-from-file paths.txt

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Handling Special Cases

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Renamed Files in History

If a file was renamed during repository history: 
# Include both old and new names
git filter-repo \
  --path oldname.txt \
  --path newname.txt \
  --path-rename oldname.txt:unified.txt \
  --path-rename newname.txt:unified.txt

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Case-Only Renames

# Rename with only case change
git filter-repo --path-rename README.md:readme.md
On case-insensitive filesystems (Windows, macOS), you may need to use a temporary intermediate name.

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Wildcard Alternatives

Since --path-rename doesn’t support wildcards directly, use --filename-callback: 
# Rename all .txt files to .md
git filter-repo --filename-callback '
  if filename.endswith(b".txt"):
    return filename[:-4] + b".md"
  return filename
'

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Important Considerations

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Path Filtering vs Path Renaming

Path renaming does NOT filter!This is empty (no paths selected):
git filter-repo --path-rename old/:new/
This works (paths explicitly selected):
git filter-repo --path old/ --path-rename old/:new/

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Rename Processing Order

Renames are applied in the order specified: 
# Source -> Intermediate -> Final
git filter-repo \
  --path-rename sources/:intermediate/ \
  --path-rename intermediate/:final/
The result is sources/ → final/

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Incompatibility with —use-base-name

# This will ERROR
git filter-repo --use-base-name --path-rename old/:new/
--use-base-name and --path-rename cannot be used together.

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Verification

After renaming, verify the results: 
# Check structure of resulting history
git ls-tree -r --name-only HEAD

# Verify specific files exist
git log --all --name-only -- new-path/

# Compare before/after
git filter-repo --analyze  # Before
# ... perform filtering ...
git filter-repo --analyze  # After

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See Also

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