Batch rename with sed

Before making any changes, list every file that contains the old property name:

grep -rl 'Updated:' /path/to/docs --include="*.md"

Review the output to confirm the scope matches your expectations.

If all files are in one flat directory, run:

sed -i 's/Updated:/Date:/g' *.md

The -i flag edits each file in-place. The g flag replaces all occurrences per line, though a property name typically appears only once per file.

For a directory tree, use find with the + terminator to batch files into a single sed invocation (more efficient than one process per file):

find /path/to/docs -name "*.md" -exec sed -i 's/Updated:/Date:/g' {} +

Confirm no occurrences of the old name remain:

grep -r 'Updated:' /path/to/docs --include="*.md"

An empty result means the rename is complete.

WARNING: The -i flag modifies files permanently. Ensure you have a backup or the repository is under version control (e.g. Git) before running the command.

TIP: On macOS, GNU sed is not the default. Either install it via Homebrew (brew install gnu-sed) and use gsed, or append a backup suffix: sed -i '' 's/Updated:/Date:/g' *.md.