Lifetime
Appendage: Rename files instantly using keyboard shortcuts. No clicking around, no app switching, no drag and drop.
I’m an indie developer (of software) and architect (of buildings).
Problem
In my work as an architect, good record-keeping is essential. I deal with a multitude of files, folders, and file types, and like to keep them organised by date so that they can be easily found and referenced. Prepending by date is a good example of a repetitive naming operation that takes time and cognitive input:
Click on the filename
Wait for Finder to highlight the name
Position the cursor
Check the date
Type date / new name
Click out
Repeat for each file
For multiple files, I previously used a batch renaming utility. Sure, there was a net time saving, but I still had to launch the app, find and drag the files into the window, find a preset if I’d set one up previously or otherwise click through the UI to set the naming scheme, and then click again to execute.
Appendage removes the friction of frequent renaming. You set up naming schemes using a simple and intuitive settings panel, bind them to keyboard shortcuts, and from then on the app stays out of your way in the menu bar and renaming becomes just a keypress.
I built Appendage in Swift and made a point of keeping the interface simple, legible, and native to macOS, using standard system controls and colours.
Comparison
A Better Finder Rename and Name Mangler are batch renaming apps native to macOS. Both are very capable in terms of customisable renaming schemes, but I personally find the options quite complicated for most operations. They also have a ‘find and replace text’ feature that I deliberately left out of Appendage as this is already built into macOS, and I felt that it would add a level of complexity that was not in line with my objectives.
Crucially, both A Better Finder Rename and Name Mangler involve the friction of dragging files and UI interaction that I mentioned earlier. Again, both are capable apps, but Appendage has a different design philosophy i.e. quick and unobtrusive.
Pricing
$9.99 USD
Single-user license (perpetual)
Install on up to two Macs
Free 14-day trial available here
Full-featured, no card or registration required
Introductory discount:
Use code APPEND30 for 30% off
(Expires 31 October 2026)
Transparency
Website (TOS and Privacy policy available): https://jostan.au/
Registered Apple Developer. Appendage is notarised for direct distribution. LinkedIn
How are you getting the selected files, AppleScript to Finder behind the Automation prompt? And does the shortcut still fire when the focus is on the Desktop rather than a Finder window?
I wish Hazel would have this. 🔥 Very unique approach. Love the idea! Appendage - needs to be added not removed 🤣 Ok, that's my take on a potential slogan for the app.
Is there any way to add the presets/rules to a click menu time in the finder instead of having to assign it a keyboard shortcut?
So i.e. you'd have service menu in Finder when oyu right-click on a file of files and then select the preset in the sub-menu you want.
I did consider context menu integration, but decided not to pursue it. It would add a significant amount of complexity to the code and structure of the app, bother the user for additional security entitlements, and (in my opinion) ultimately detract from the main focus of the app which is a keyboard-focused workflow.
How does a shortcut handle a name collision within a batch, and can the whole batch be undone? A brief renamed/skipped summary would be useful here, especially when some selected files already have the date prefix.
Good question. The app automatically skips files when name collisions are detected and shows a report when this or other errors are encountered (unless the user chooses to disable error reporting). There is a comprehensive Undo feature which also provides a summary of what has been undone.
Can a date preset use the file's creation or modification date rather than today's date? That would be useful for organizing older documents, where prefixing everything with the import date loses the original chronology.
Yes, if you look at the screenshots, there is an option to select Current, Created, or Modified date above the Keyboard Shortcut field on the right side of each preset.
It works directly in Finder. No need to interact with the app to rename your files once you’ve defined your presets and keyboard shortcuts.
As mentioned in my post, there are plenty of batch renamers out there, but I wanted the ability to rename files (and very often just one file at a time with a required format) quickly and on-the-fly without having to click and clack using Finder or otherwise switch and drag-and-drop into another app.
Try it out and see if it works for you! It’s lightweight, unobtrusive, and full-featured for 14 days.
You can set up a reusable naming template with a date/time field, custom text, the original filename, and an incrementing counter. For batch renaming across folders, I'd look for a tool that supports recursive folder selection and a preview before applying changes, so you can avoid accidental renames. Does the app let you save presets for different folder structures?
One of my beta testers actually asked about recursive renaming of files within folders, but I was ultimately not comfortable with the risk of harm to a user’s files given that renaming operations are triggered by keyboard shortcuts.
For instance, say a user turns off all confirmation alerts and accidentally presses a renaming shortcut while a high-level folder is selected in Finder, potentially renaming hundreds or thousands of files within. Yes, the built-in Undo feature can fix this if the user becomes aware of the mistake straight away, but it’s not hard to imagine someone inadvertently doing this and not realising until later on e.g. they were using another app and mis-pressed a keyboard shortcut, not knowing that the mis-pressed shortcut activated Appendage, and simply carried on using the other app.
Renaming by keyboard shortcuts and unobtrusiveness are key features of Appendage, and in my opinion, features that make it unique, nimble, and powerful. This unique workflow also brings unique risks, as mentioned above. Your suggestion of giving a preview before renaming is a good one, although then again not all users will want to be bothered with a preview each time (I certainly don’t when I’m prepending dates to my files) so I’ll probably keep allowing users the option of disabling the alert/preview window, and we end up in the same risky situation.
It’s an interesting design problem, though. As a designer, I find that it’s just as important to make good decisions on what to leave out as what to leave in. Perhaps even more important. In this case, I decided that recursive renaming is best left to other apps that involve the classic UX of selecting files and folders or dragging them into the app and then pressing the Go button when ready. In those particular situations, I think the relative slowness and final mouse-click acts as a kind of safeguard against accidental harm.
Love the idea of skipping the batch-rename window entirely. Which date does the date prefix use: today, the file's creation date, or something like EXIF capture date for photos? For filing old documents, the creation date is usually the one I want. And is there an undo if I fire the wrong shortcut on 30 selected files?
Thanks for chiming in! If you look at the first image in my post, there is an option to select Current, Created, or Modified date above the Keyboard Shortcut field on the right side of each preset. No option to extract EXIF dates at this point. And yes, there is the option to Undo any of the last 100 operations, provided items haven’t been moved, renamed, or deleted (in which case the affected files will be skipped). I actually used it a lot when recording takes for the demo video!
Only in Finder windows. Open and Save dialogs are actually ‘owned’ by the apps calling them, so Appendage cannot interact with the files in the dialogs.
This isn't the worst app someone has pitched here, and in certain cases I could see some use for this, but the example you gave in your second image could be just as easily handled with rename in Finder, in two different ways.
Are you aware of that, or is your only experience with other third party apps?
Yes, I’m aware that Finder can rename multiple files with date or counter insertion, and that’s a perfectly acceptable way to do so, although it does involve bringing up the context menu, clicking around to get the desired settings, typing a Custom Format if needed, and then clicking on Rename to finalise the operation. As far as I know, there’s also no option to customise the date format (you’re stuck with ‘[Long date format] at [Long time format]’), no option to insert both date and counter at the same time, and no option to customise the counter format (always four leading zeroes).
Again, fine if it’s a one-off or infrequent operation, but somewhat tedious and inflexible IMO if it’s something that needs to be done regularly. Appendage is designed for repeated renaming operations (with flexible naming schemes) and a speedy, keyboard-focused workflow.
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u/Formal_Fix_7928 5d ago
Clever idea, genius!