Content-based naming
or free deterministic control?
NameQuick is the app that renames files based on their content, for Mac and Windows. Transnomino is a free Mac utility for precise regex, text, numbering, path and metadata transformations with live preview.
NameQuick Mac Self-Managed includes 50 renames with no card or time limit. Transnomino is free, with optional donations.
NameQuick
AI reads your files and names them
Transnomino
Free deterministic batch renaming for Mac
Transnomino wins when the job is a known deterministic transform: Unicode regex, exact text edits, sophisticated numbering, metadata tokens, path rules or a saved recipe, all free. NameQuick wins when names must come from document or image content, when Windows is required, or when a Mac workflow needs evidence-backed review and broader filing actions.
Choose NameQuick- when files must be understood through extraction, OCR or image analysis before they can be named and filed.
- Choose Transnomino
- when you already know the exact filename, path, numbering or metadata transformation and want precise free Mac control.
- Or use both
- These are direct alternatives. Choose Transnomino for deterministic filename and metadata rules, or NameQuick for content understanding and broader cross-platform filing.
At a glance
How they compare
| Feature | NameQuick | Transnomino |
|---|---|---|
| Platform, release and distribution | Native Mac and Windows apps. Mac requires macOS 15.4+; Windows supports x64 and ARM64. | Bastiaan Verreijt publishes direct-download Transnomino 10.1.0, released April 4, 2026, for macOS 14+. Legacy builds cover older macOS releases back to 10.11. Current CPU architectures and App Store or Setapp distribution are not documented as of 2026-08-20. |
| Price and licensing | Mac Self-Managed is $69 once with lifetime updates; Managed is $12-$99/month. The Self-Managed trial allows 50 renames without a card or time limit. | Free, with optional PayPal “coffee” donations of €1, €2, €4, €8, €10, €15 or €20. Formal license terms, commercial-use grant, device limits, refund, tax and update policy are not documented as of 2026-08-20. |
| Text and pattern transformations | Templates combine extracted content with placeholders, conditions, fallbacks and a counter. | Documents full-Unicode regular expressions, wildcards, find/replace, insert, prefix/suffix, set, trim, case and titlecase, diacritic removal, Windows-compatible names, CSV lookup conversions, Select filters, chained actions and reusable recipes. |
| Numbering, paths and metadata | Mac can use content fields, counters and image/media metadata including camera, GPS and capture date. | Targets filename, extension, path or full path. Numbering supports decimal, hexadecimal, Roman, alphabetical and random values with starts, steps, repeats and resets. Tokens cover file dates/attributes, tags, EXIF/GPS, ID3, FLAC and AV/media; GPS addresses use a cached background API lookup. |
| Content understanding | Mac recognizes 30+ formats with extraction, on-device OCR and image/media metadata. Windows names documents and images from content. | Document-body extraction, OCR, scan reading, AI/LLM or vision naming, image semantic understanding and audio transcription are not documented in current first-party materials as of 2026-08-20. |
| Preview, validation and recovery | Mac shows proposed names beside source evidence, with History, undo and timestamp preservation. Windows provides review, receipts and undo. | Provides live preview, regex-based file subsets, validation status, optional numeric collision suffixes and an app Undo/Redo system. Per-file manual name editing, post-rename disk rollback, history depth and timestamp preservation are not documented as of 2026-08-20. |
| Automation and Finder access | Watch Folders run on Mac and Windows with platform-specific filing features. | The current CLI opens multiple directories plus a recipe file or JSON. A Finder Folder Action can launch Transnomino on new arrivals, and the changelog documents Finder Quick Action support. Timer schedules and droplets are not documented. Direct AppleScript control was removed in v9.0 despite stale examples lower on the automation page. |
| File actions and privacy | Mac Rules can rename, move, tag, color-label, change dates, archive and send files to Trash; Mac offers local, own-key or Managed processing. Windows has filing presets and Managed processing. | Path renaming can create or reorganize directories. General copy, writing tags/colors, changing filesystem dates, archive, Trash/delete and duplicate cleanup are not documented. No public privacy or telemetry policy was found, and GPS address lookup uses an API, so a fully offline guarantee is not supported. |
Choose NameQuick when…
- The filename must come from document text, a scan, screenshot or image that needs extraction or OCR.
- You need content naming and Watch Folders on Windows x64 or ARM64 as well as Mac.
- Your Mac workflow needs source evidence, timestamp preservation, or Rules for tags, dates, archive and Trash.
- You need a documented choice between local, own-key and Managed AI processing on Mac.
Choose Transnomino when…
- You want a capable batch renamer at no cost, with optional donations rather than a purchase.
- You need exact Unicode regex, text, case, CSV lookup or chained transformations with live preview.
- Your filenames or folders should use sophisticated numbering or EXIF, GPS, ID3, FLAC and media metadata.
- You need macOS 14 support, legacy builds, reusable recipes, CLI launching or Finder-triggered batches.
Common questions
Transnomino facts and primary sources
This is a public first-party source audit, not an installer test. The automation page conflicts with itself: it correctly warns that direct AppleScript support was removed in v9.0 but still publishes older AppleScript examples below. This page therefore relies only on current CLI, Finder Quick Action and external Folder Action claims. CPU architecture, formal license terms, content/OCR capabilities, post-rename rollback, timestamp preservation, batch caps and privacy or telemetry practices remain undocumented.
Try NameQuick on your messiest folder. 50 renames, no credit card.