Batch rename downloaded Zoom recordings

Batch renaming downloaded Zoom recordings can help you organize files by meeting title, date, or participants. Here’s a step-by-step method using a Python script to rename all Zoom recordings in a folder based on a customizable pattern.

Step-by-Step Python Script: Batch Rename Zoom Recordings

Requirements

• Python 3 installed

• Zoom recordings saved locally (typically .mp4, .m4a, .txt files)

• Basic understanding of filename structure (e.g., zoom_0.mp4, audio_only.m4a)

Script

python
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import os
from datetime import datetime

# Set the directory containing Zoom recordings
folder_path = '/path/to/your/zoom/recordings'

# Define your custom naming format
# Example: "MeetingTitle_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM"
meeting_title = "TeamMeeting"

# Loop through files in the folder
for filename in os.listdir(folder_path):
    file_path = os.path.join(folder_path, filename)

    if os.path.isfile(file_path):
        # Get the creation time of the file
        creation_time = os.path.getctime(file_path)
        date_time = datetime.fromtimestamp(creation_time).strftime('%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M')

        # Get file extension
        _, ext = os.path.splitext(filename)

        # Generate new filename
        new_name = f"{meeting_title}_{date_time}{ext}"
        new_path = os.path.join(folder_path, new_name)

        # Rename the file
        os.rename(file_path, new_path)
        print(f"Renamed: {filename} → {new_name}")

Customizations

You can modify:

• meeting_title to reflect the specific meeting

• strftime() format to change date/time style

• Add meeting IDs or participant names from a .txt file if available

Alternative: Rename with CLI (macOS/Linux)

If you’re comfortable with the terminal:

bash
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cd /path/to/zoom/recordings
i=1; for f in *.mp4; do mv "$f" "Meeting_$(date -r "$f" '+%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M')_$i.mp4"; ((i++)); done

Tips

• Always back up your files before batch renaming.

• This script works on video/audio/transcript files alike.

• If Zoom filenames are confusing, check for patterns using ls or os.listdir() first.

Let me know if you’d like this adapted to include meeting topics or pulled from Zoom’s metadata.