dontic/modate

Python tool to change a files or group of files creation and modification dates, both in Windows and macOS

modate

modate is a Python command line tool that changes a file's or group of files' "created", "modified" or "last accessed" dates.

Installation

pip install --upgrade modate

Usage

Declaring a date manually:

modate -f filepath -d YYYYmmdd_HHMMSS -c -m -a

Getting the date from the filename:

modate -f filepath -df srtftime_args -c -m -a

Options:

  -f, --filepath TEXT      Filepath of the file(s) to modify. 
                           Accepts wildcard arguments.
  -d, --date TEXT          Date to use.
  -df, --date_format TEXT  Specify format in which the date is stated in the
                           filename. Use strftime directives.
  -c, --created            Change the "created" datetime.
  -m, --modified           Change the "modified" datetime.
  -a, --accessed           Change the "last opened" datetime.
  --help                   Show this message and exit.

For details on how to use strftime directives visit https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/datetime/strftime

Examples:

Change the 'created' time of sample.jpg to 2021-Nov-22 15:42:10

modate -f sample.jpg -d 20211222_154210 -c

Change the 'created' time of img_2021-11-22.jpg automatically

modate -f img_2021-11-22.jpg -df %Y-%m-%d -c

Change the 'modified' and 'created' time of data.csv to 2021-Nov-22 15:42:10

modate -f data.csv -d 20211222_154210 -m -c

Change the 'created' time of all png files in a folder to 2021-Nov-22 15:42:10

modate -f *.png -d 20211222_154210 -c

Change the 'modified' time of all files in a folder automatically

# Files in the folder:
# data_2021-11-22_15-42-10.csv
# data_2021-12-10_23-02-56.csv
# data_2021-12-27_12-23-38.csv

modate -f *.csv -df %Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S -m

Upcoming features

• macOS compatibility
• Change each file's date based on a date specified in its filename i.e.: IMG_2021-12-23_19-14-19.jpg