Rename a batch of photos using the date they were taken. Choose the sort order, date format, and numbering, then download them with their new names.
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DetailsDrag and drop your photos here
The date taken (EXIF) is read from JPEG files automatically
How Renaming Photos by EXIF Date Works
This tool renames many image files at once. It looks up when each photo was taken (the EXIF date stored in JPEG files, or the file's last-modified date when there is no EXIF date) and builds a name from a prefix, a date, and a sequence number.
Phones and cameras usually name files with a counter, such as IMG_0001.jpg or DSC00234.jpg. Those names say nothing about when the photo was taken, and photos from different devices end up mixed together. Sorting by date taken and renaming gives you names like trip_2026-03-15_0001.jpg that stay in chronological order in any folder.
You can sort by date taken, file name, or the order you added the photos, pick a date format, and set the start number and number of digits. The new names show up in a live preview. Save photos one by one, or download everything as a single ZIP file.
Common Uses for Date-Based File Names
Photos from a trip or event on several phones
When friends send you their photos, every phone uses its own naming. Sort by date taken and renumber everything so the whole album reads in the order things happened.
Client delivery with consistent names
Set the prefix to a project or client name, for example "Smith-wedding", and every file in the delivery gets the same pattern with the date and a running number.
Replacing camera default names
Swap IMG_XXXX and DSC_XXXX style names for names that include the date, so you can find a day's photos without opening them.
Archiving and backups
Before you move photos to a backup drive or cloud storage, give them one naming pattern. Names that begin with the year, month, and day sort correctly in almost any file browser.
Rename a Batch of Photos in 4 Steps
- Drag your photos onto the drop area, or click "Choose images" and select them.
- Pick a sort order: date taken (oldest or newest first), file name, or the order you added them.
- Set the prefix, separator, date format, start number, and number of digits.
- Check the new names in the preview, then download photos one by one or click "Download all as ZIP".
Note: Everything runs in your browser, from reading the dates to creating the ZIP. Your photos are not uploaded.
Limits and Things to Know
- Websites cannot rename files on your computer. The tool saves each image under its new name instead, and your originals stay as they are.
- EXIF dates are read from JPEG files only. Other formats, such as PNG, WebP, and HEIC, use the file's last-modified date.
- Files are saved exactly as loaded. The image data is not re-encoded, so EXIF data and quality are unchanged.
- The ZIP stores files without extra compression, so it is about the same size as the originals combined.
- Photos and the ZIP are handled in browser memory, so very large batches can be slow on some devices.
File Name Pattern Examples
Examples of the names produced by different prefix, date format, and number settings.
| Prefix | Date format | Number | Resulting file name |
|---|---|---|---|
| photo | YYYYMMDD | 0001 | photo_20260315_0001.jpg |
| trip | YYYY-MM-DD | 0012 | trip_2026-03-15_0012.jpg |
| Smith-wedding | YYYY-MM-DD_HHmmss | 0003 | Smith-wedding_2026-03-15_143210_0003.jpg |
| vacation | MM-DD-YYYY | 0001 | vacation_03-15-2026_0001.jpg |
| (empty) | None | 0100 | 0100.jpg |
Prefix, separator, and date format can be combined freely. If you set the separator to empty, the parts are joined with nothing between them.
Organizing Photos With Date-Based File Names
Why a date plus a number makes a better file name than the one your camera gave it.
Camera counters tell you nothing about when a photo was taken
Names like IMG_0001 or DSC00234 come from a counter inside the device. Two cameras can produce the same name, and the name does not tell you the day.
A name that starts with the date and ends with a running number tells you both at a glance, and photos from different devices can share one folder without clashing.
EXIF date taken vs. file last-modified date
The EXIF date is a value the camera wrote into the photo when you took it. The file's last-modified date belongs to the file on your disk and can reflect when the file was edited, copied, or downloaded instead.
When both are available, the EXIF date is the better guide to the real shooting order, which is why this tool uses it first for JPEG files.
Put the year first so names sort in date order
File browsers sort names character by character. With YYYY-MM-DD or YYYYMMDD, alphabetical order is also chronological order. A format like MM-DD-YYYY reads naturally in the US, but March 2027 would sort before December 2026, so use it only for a single year or when you do not need name order to match date order.
Use the prefix for the project, place, or client
If you deliver or share photos often, set the prefix to a short project, location, or client name. Months later, the file name alone tells you which job it belongs to, which day it was taken, and its position in the set.
Common Renaming Mistakes and Fixes
Screenshots or downloaded images throw off the date order
Screenshots and images saved from websites usually have no EXIF date. When you sort by date taken, these files use their last-modified date and can land in the wrong place between your real photos.
💡 See the solution▼
Starting at 0001 again for a second batch
If you rename more photos later and leave the start number at 1, the new files repeat numbers you already used, and files from both batches can end up with the same name in one folder.
💡 See the solution▼
Empty prefix and separator make names hard to read
With no prefix and no separator, a name like 202603150001.jpg runs the date and number together and is hard to read.
💡 See the solution▼
The camera clock was wrong
The tool uses the time stored in the photo as is. If a camera's clock was never set or was in another time zone, its photos get dates that don't match real time and can sort out of order against other cameras.
💡 See the solution▼
Looking for the renamed files without unzipping
"Download all as ZIP" gives you one .zip file. If you compare it with your original folder without opening it, it looks like nothing was renamed.
💡 See the solution▼
Questions About Renaming Photos in Your Browser
Q.Are my photos uploaded to a server?
A. No. The tool reads your files, finds the dates, builds the new names, and creates the ZIP inside your browser. There is no upload step, so your photos stay on your device.
Q.How does the tool get the date a photo was taken?
A. For JPEG files, it reads the EXIF "date taken" value (DateTimeOriginal). If that value is missing, it falls back to the EXIF DateTime value. If a file is not a JPEG, or has no EXIF date, it uses the file's last-modified date instead. The preview marks each photo as "EXIF" or "File date" so you can see which one was used.
Q.Does it rename the files on my computer?
A. No. A web page cannot rename files on your disk. Instead, the tool saves a copy of each image under its new name, either one at a time or all together in a ZIP file. Your original files are not changed.
Q.Can I rename HEIC, PNG, or WebP photos?
A. Yes. You can add HEIC, HEIF, PNG, WebP, and other common image files, and they are renamed like any other. The tool only reads EXIF dates from JPEG files, so these formats use the file's last-modified date for the date part and for sorting. Some browsers cannot show HEIC thumbnails, but the rename still works.
Q.What does a renamed file look like?
A. Each name is built from a prefix, a date, and a sequence number, joined by the separator you choose. For example, a prefix of "trip" with the YYYY-MM-DD date format gives trip_2026-03-15_0001.jpg. You can turn off the date, leave the prefix empty, or change the separator and the number of digits.
Q.In what order are the numbers assigned?
A. Numbers follow the sort order you pick: date taken (oldest or newest first), file name (A–Z), or the order you added the photos. The first photo gets your start number and each following photo adds 1. File name sorting treats numbers as numbers, so IMG_2 comes before IMG_10.
Q.Can two photos end up with the same name?
A. Not in normal use, because every photo gets its own sequence number, even when several were taken in the same second. As a safeguard, if two names ever match, the tool adds -2, -3, and so on before the extension.
Q.Which characters are not allowed in the prefix or separator?
A. Windows does not allow \ / : * ? " < > | in file names. The tool removes these characters from your prefix and separator so the saved files and the ZIP are valid on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Q.Does renaming change the photo or its EXIF data?
A. No. The tool saves each file exactly as it was loaded and changes only the name. The image is not re-encoded, so quality and metadata such as the date taken stay the same.
Q.How many photos can I rename at once?
A. The tool does not set a limit. Because the photos and the ZIP are handled in your browser's memory, very large batches or very large files can slow down or crash the tab on some devices. If that happens, rename the photos in smaller groups and set the start number so numbering continues.
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