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rename

The rename command renames columns in a CSV file.

Syntax​

qsv rename <old_column_name>,<new_column_name> [<input_file>] [<output_file>]

Description​

The rename command renames columns in a CSV file. It reads from stdin if no input file is specified and writes to stdout if no output file is given.

Options​

  • None specific to rename

Exit Codes​

  • 0: Rename successful
  • Non-zero: An error occurred

Examples​

Basic Usage​

Rename the 'Country' column to 'Nation':

qsv rename Country,Nation olympics2024.csv | qsv select Nation,Gold,Total | qsv table

Output:

Nation         Gold  Total
United States  39    113
China          38    88
Japan          27    58
Great Britain  22    65
ROC            20    71

Common Use Cases​

  • Standardizing column names across datasets
  • Correcting typos or inconsistencies in column names
  • Making column names more descriptive or meaningful

Tips​

  • Use rename in combination with other qsv commands for more complex data processing
  • Verify the column names after renaming by sampling the output

See Also​

  • select - for selecting specific columns
  • table - for displaying data in a tabular format