photocraft/docs/batch-naming.md

Batch output naming

Select a recorded action, then open File > Automate > Batch. Set the input and output folders. File Naming accepts a filename stem template; the selected export format supplies the extension. Leave it blank to keep the existing source filenames and collision reporting.

Token	Value
{name}	Input filename without its last extension
{serial}	Input position plus Starting serial (default 1), padded to at least three digits
{date}	UTC date at the start of the batch, in YYYY-MM-DD form

For example, {name}_{serial} with starting serial 7 writes photo_007.png and photo_008.png for two PNG inputs named photo.png. A serial after 999 becomes 1000; it does not wrap. Folder inputs use the existing filename order, and an explicit input array keeps its order. Failed inputs consume their position, so later filenames do not shift. Braces in an input filename are literal text, not additional tokens.

Unknown tokens, unmatched braces, invalid parameter types, path separators, reserved filename characters, excessive filename length (255 UTF-8 bytes), and serial overflow are rejected before export writes begin. Starting serial must be an integer from 1 to 4,294,967,295. A custom template that resolves to an existing input file is also rejected; choose a separate destination or another template. Ordinary per-file read, action and save failures still appear in the batch's errors result. When two results share a name, including a case-only difference, the first successful result is kept and the later collision is reported.

The same options are available on file.automate.batch through the engine command interface:

{
  "input": ["first/photo.png", "second/photo.png"],
  "output": "exports",
  "steps": [["image.adjustments.invert", {}]],
  "format": "png",
  "naming": "{name}_{serial}",
  "startingSerial": 7
}

The CLI can invoke this command with run --cmd file.automate.batch --params .... This option belongs to Batch; Image Processor and droplet options retain their existing behavior.