Rename files based on EXIF data

Renaming files based on EXIF data—especially photos—is a common task for organizing images by the date and time they were taken. Here’s a Python script that uses the Pillow and os libraries to rename image files in a folder based on their EXIF metadata (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.jpg).

🐍 Python Script: Rename Files Using EXIF Metadata

python
CopyEdit
import os
from PIL import Image
from PIL.ExifTags import TAGS
from datetime import datetime

def get_exif_datetime(image_path):
    try:
        image = Image.open(image_path)
        exif_data = image._getexif()
        if not exif_data:
            return None
        for tag_id, value in exif_data.items():
            tag = TAGS.get(tag_id, tag_id)
            if tag == 'DateTimeOriginal':
                return value
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error reading EXIF from {image_path}: {e}")
    return None

def format_datetime(exif_datetime):
    try:
        dt = datetime.strptime(exif_datetime, '%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S')
        return dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S')
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error formatting EXIF datetime: {e}")
        return None

def rename_images_in_directory(directory):
    for filename in os.listdir(directory):
        if filename.lower().endswith(('.jpg', '.jpeg')):
            full_path = os.path.join(directory, filename)
            exif_datetime = get_exif_datetime(full_path)
            if exif_datetime:
                formatted_name = format_datetime(exif_datetime)
                if formatted_name:
                    new_filename = f"{formatted_name}.jpg"
                    new_full_path = os.path.join(directory, new_filename)
                    counter = 1
                    while os.path.exists(new_full_path):
                        new_filename = f"{formatted_name}_{counter}.jpg"
                        new_full_path = os.path.join(directory, new_filename)
                        counter += 1
                    os.rename(full_path, new_full_path)
                    print(f"Renamed: {filename} → {new_filename}")
                else:
                    print(f"Skipping {filename}: Failed to format EXIF date")
            else:
                print(f"Skipping {filename}: No EXIF date found")

# Example usage:
# rename_images_in_directory("/path/to/your/images")

📌 Notes:

• Only processes .jpg and .jpeg files.

• Skips files without DateTimeOriginal EXIF tag.

• Prevents overwriting by appending a counter if a filename already exists.

Let me know if you want this adapted for other EXIF tags (like camera model) or file types (like .png, though they rarely have EXIF).