Java FTP Rename File or Directory Example

The FTPClient  class in Apache Commons Net API provides a convenient method to rename a remote file/directory on a FTP server. Syntax of this method look like:

boolean rename(String from, String to) throws IOException

Where:

• • from: path/name of the file/directory which we want to rename.
  • to: new name/path of the file/directory.
  • The method return true if the file/directory was renamed successfully. It returns false in case the file/directory does not exist or the new name/path already exists. An IOException is thrown if there is any error occurs during communication with the server.

Here are some examples on usage of this method:

• • Rename a file/directory in the current working directory (using relative path):

ftpClient.rename("photo", "photo_2012");

ftpClient.rename("Puppy.jpg", "Puppy_Old.jpg");

• • Rename a file/directory using absolute path:

ftpClient.rename("/personal/photo", "/personal/photo_2012");

ftpClient.rename("/personal/photo/Puppy.jpg", "/personal/photo/Puppy_Old.jpg");

• • Of course we cannot change the name in middle like this:
    

ftpClient.rename("/personal/photo/family/2012", "/personal/photo/wedding/2012");

NOTE: It’s recommended to check result of the rename() method to make sure the operation is actually successful or not. For example: 

boolean success = ftpClient.rename("photo", "photo_2012");

if (success) {
	// rename succeeded
} else {
	// rename failed
}

The following small program demonstrates how to connect to a FTP server to rename a file and a directory, and disconnect: 

package net.codejava.ftp;

import java.io.IOException;

import org.apache.commons.net.ftp.FTPClient;

public class FTPRenamer {

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		String server = "www.ftpserver.com";
		int port = 21;
		String user = "username";
		String pass = "password";

		FTPClient ftpClient = new FTPClient();
		try {
			ftpClient.connect(server, port);
			ftpClient.login(user, pass);

			// renaming directory
			String oldDir = "/photo";
			String newDir = "/photo_2012";

			boolean success = ftpClient.rename(oldDir, newDir);
			if (success) {
				System.out.println(oldDir + " was successfully renamed to: "
						+ newDir);
			} else {
				System.out.println("Failed to rename: " + oldDir);
			}

			// renaming file
			String oldFile = "/work/error.png";
			String newFile = "/work/screenshot.png";

			success = ftpClient.rename(oldFile, newFile);
			if (success) {
				System.out.println(oldFile + " was successfully renamed to: "
						+ newFile);
			} else {
				System.out.println("Failed to rename: " + oldFile);
			}

			ftpClient.logout();
			ftpClient.disconnect();
		} catch (IOException ex) {
			ex.printStackTrace();
		} finally {
			if (ftpClient.isConnected()) {
				try {
					ftpClient.logout();
					ftpClient.disconnect();
				} catch (IOException ex) {
					ex.printStackTrace();
				}
			}
		}
	}
}

Remember to update the variable server, port, userand pass according to your FTP account setting.

Related Java FTP Tutorials:

• Determine if a directory or file exists on FTP server
• Java FTP example - Get and set file modification time
• Java FTP example - Get details of a file or directory on server
• Delete a file on a FTP server

Other Java FTP Tutorials:

• Connect and login to a FTP server
• Java FTP example - Change working directory
• Java FTP create directory example
• Java FTP list files and directories example
• Java FTP file download tutorial and example
• Java FTP file upload tutorial and example
• Java FTP example - Search for files and directories
• How to upload a directory to a FTP server
• How to download a complete folder from a FTP server

About the Author:

Nam Ha Minh is certified Java programmer (SCJP and SCWCD). He began programming with Java back in the days of Java 1.4 and has been passionate about it ever since. You can connect with him on Facebook and watch his Java videos on YouTube.

Attachments:

FTPRenamer.java

[Example program]

1 kB