RenameWise
AI file renamer for Mac
Names your files
by what's inside.
RenameWise opens each file, reads it with an on-device AI model, and proposes a name that says what it actually is — IMG_4472.jpg becomes 2026-03-12_blue-bottle-coffee_receipt.jpg. You review every name before anything changes.
From camera noise to a name you can file.
Real examples of what content-aware renaming looks like. The date comes off the document itself — not the day you downloaded it.
You stay in charge. Always.
RenameWise never touches a file without your approval, never overwrites anything, and records every rename so you can undo it — forever.
Drop a folder
Drag any folder onto the window — scans, receipts, screenshots, photos, exports. Or right-click a folder in Finder and choose Rename in RenameWise.
The AI reads each file — on your Mac
A local vision model looks at the actual content: the vendor on a receipt, the date printed on an invoice, the subject of a photo. Nothing is uploaded, ever.
Review the proposed names
Every file gets an old → new preview with the changed words highlighted. Edit inline, regenerate, exclude — anything the model wasn't sure about is flagged needs review.
Rename — and undo any time
One click applies the batch. Every rename is journaled, so you can undo a batch — or a single file — days or months later.
Built on rules that don't bend
- ✓Preview first, always. Analysis never touches the disk — only the Rename button does, after you've seen every name.
- ✓Never overwrites. A name collision becomes
invoice-2.pdf, never a lost file. - ✓Every rename is journaled. Per-batch and per-file undo, plus a full history you can export to CSV for your records.
- ✓Honest about uncertainty. A wrong date is worse than no date — impossible dates are dropped, unclear files are flagged, not guessed at.
Typical speed: about 1–2 seconds per file on Apple Silicon. Re-running a folder you've already analyzed is instant — results are cached until the file changes.
A full filing workflow, not just a renamer.
Everything runs on the same on-device engine — so every feature below works offline, on planes, and on files you'd never send to a cloud.
Reads the actual content
Images (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, AVIF, WebP), PDFs — including scans — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email files and plain text. The name comes from what's inside, not the old filename.
Review with inline diffs
Old → new with the changed words highlighted, so a flipped digit or dropped word can't hide between two similar names. Edit any name in place before applying.
Undo, forever
An append-only journal records every rename before it happens. Undo a whole batch or a single file, whenever. Export the history to CSV or JSON as an audit trail.
Search files by meaning
Ask for “tax documents from March” or “photos without people” and get answers — the search runs over what the AI read in each file. Indexed folders answer instantly.
Watched folders
Point RenameWise at your Downloads or scanner folder. New files are read automatically and queued for your review — never renamed behind your back. The model unloads when idle.
Right there in Finder
Right-click any folder → Rename in RenameWise or Watch in RenameWise. Approved files can move straight into an output folder of your choice.
Names in 7 languages
English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch. Descriptive words are translated; company names, people and dates stay exactly as they appear.
Your rules, your style
Pascal_Case, kebab-case, snake_case or Spaces; date first, last or none. Save whole setups as presets, and add transform rules like “contains walmart → prepend GROCERY-”.
Learns your corrections
Fix “acme” to “ACME” twice and RenameWise applies it for you from then on — visibly badged, always editable, stored only on your Mac. Duplicate files are spotted by content, too.
Your files never leave your Mac. Full stop.
Most AI tools work by uploading your documents to someone else's server. RenameWise ships the AI to you instead: a vision model runs inside the app, on your Mac. Receipts, contracts, medical records, client files — they're read where they live and nowhere else.
No account. No telemetry. No analytics. Turn off Wi-Fi and everything still works.
Never leaves your Mac
The only things that cross the wire
Every team files differently.
RenameWise adapts.
Pick a file type and a house style — this is the same template → format → date pipeline the app runs on your real files.
Built for people whose files are the job.
Bookkeepers & accountants
A shoebox of client receipts becomes date_vendor_receipt in one pass — dated from the paper, not the photo. Export the rename history as a CSV audit trail.
Legal & compliance
Client documents can't touch a cloud service — and here they never do. Engagement letters, filings and correspondence get consistent, searchable names on-device.
Anyone drowning in Downloads
Screenshots, scans, camera rolls, “final_final_v3 (1).docx”. Watch a folder once and every new arrival shows up pre-named, waiting for your OK.
The AI comes to your files —
not the other way around.
| Capability | RenameWise | Cloud AI renamers | Renaming by hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reads file contents to name them | ✓ on your Mac | ✓ on their servers | you do the reading |
| Files stay on your machine | ✓ always | uploaded per file | ✓ |
| Works offline | ✓ fully | ✕ | ✓ |
| Review & edit before anything changes | ✓ with highlighted diffs | varies | ✓ |
| Undo, any time | ✓ per batch or per file, forever | varies | ✕ |
| Search files by meaning | ✓ on-device index | sometimes, in their cloud | ✕ |
| Cost per file processed | none — the model is yours | credits / metered | your time |
Frequently asked
Do my files really never leave my Mac?
Really. The AI model runs inside the app on your Mac's own GPU. The only network traffic RenameWise ever makes is the one-time model download on first run, a once-a-day update check you can switch off in Settings, and (for paid licenses) an activation ping that carries your license key, a random install ID and the app version — never a file name or file contents. Turn off Wi-Fi and renaming, search and history all keep working.
What does it need to run?
A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later), macOS 13 or newer, and 8 GB of memory. On first run the app downloads its AI model (~3.3 GB, one time, checksum-verified). Expect roughly 1–2 seconds per file.
Which file types does it understand?
Images (JPEG, PNG, HEIC, AVIF, WebP and more), PDFs — both digital and scanned — Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, email files (.eml), and plain-text files. Everything else can still be renamed manually in the same review list.
Can it rename a file wrongly and lose something?
It can propose a wrong name — that's why every name goes through your review, with changes highlighted and uncertain files flagged. It cannot lose data: RenameWise never overwrites an existing file (collisions get a numbered suffix), and every rename is journaled so you can undo it later — even a single file out of an old batch.
Is there a subscription?
You can preview names for free, forever. See the pricing page for the paid tiers — and since the AI runs on your own Mac, there are no per-file credits or metered costs, ever.
Give your files names worth keeping.
Download RenameWise, drop in a folder, and watch it read. Free to try — no account, no upload, no risk.
Apple Silicon · macOS 13+ · your files never leave your Mac