---
title: dv
related:
  - "[pm-user-repository](pm-user-repository.md)"
categories:
  - Tools and applications
---

**dv** (Directory View) is a visual directory management tool: it lists a
directory and lets you rename, delete and change permissions of many entries
at once using regular expressions.

![dv](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hugoocoto/dv/main/image.png)

> [!WARNING]
> dv renames and deletes files. Use at your own risk.

## Installation

```
$ git clone https://github.com/hugoocoto/dv
$ cd dv
$ make
$ make install    # optional, to ~/.local/bin
```

It is also available through the [pm user repository](pm-user-repository.md).

## Commands

Patterns are [POSIX basic regular expressions](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Regular_Expressions/POSIX_Basic_Regular_Expressions).
Commands can be written in lowercase too.

| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| `PATTERN` | Highlight entries matching the pattern |
| `S/PATTERN/TEXT` | Replace the pattern with `TEXT` in matching names |
| `I/PATTERN/TEXT` | Insert `TEXT` at the start of matching names |
| `A/PATTERN/TEXT` | Append `TEXT` to matching names |
| `CD/PATTERN` | Change to the first matching directory |
| `RM/PATTERN` | Delete every matching entry |
| `PROT/PATTERN/MODE` | Change permissions (octal, as in `chmod`) |
| `CLEAR` | Clear the screen |
| Enter | Show every entry in the current directory |

## See also

- [Source code](https://github.com/hugoocoto/dv) (GPL-3.0)