EXIF.ER
published
overview
EXIF.ER began with my photo backups. I wrote a bash script around Phil Harvey’s exiftool to rename photos and videos by their capture dates, with an optional tag. I shoot a lot on my iPhone, so I later brought the same task into Shortcuts.
At the Academy, a Nano Challenge gave me a week to make a tool app. I already had something I used, but a script’s prompts were a poor introduction for someone who had never seen it. Building EXIF.ER meant turning that routine into a sequence people could follow and check for themselves.
The app reads the original capture date from a photo or video and uses it in the filename. Naming templates and saved tags handle different filing habits, while the history keeps a record of recent jobs. The aim is a folder that still makes sense when you come back to it much later.
Renaming a folder asks someone to trust a change across many files at once. I kept the original name above the proposed one, from the home-screen example through to the folder preview. Someone choosing a naming pattern can follow the same arrangement through the app and check it before starting a batch.
Renaming happens on the device without re-encoding the media. It works with folders and the Photo Library, including RAW photos and video; items stored only in iCloud need to download through Apple first. The date depends on the original metadata being present. A file that has passed through social media may have lost it, which is a limit worth explaining before someone starts a batch.
in the App Store
These figures come from the App Store Connect screenshot I saved on September 10, 2026. The full reporting range is not visible in that screenshot.
- first-time downloads
- 211
- App Store impressions
- 2.98K
- product-page views
- 429
- conversion rate
- 12.5%daily average
There were also 15 redownloads. For the more recent August 10–September 9 window, Sales and Trends recorded 72 app units. The opt-in reports do not yet have enough data to tell me about retention.
EXIF.ER is now at version 3.0. Taking it beyond the first release has meant revisiting things I once considered finished, including the naming preview and the way unfinished files are presented. I still use it for the backup routine that started the project.
That routine also shaped the business model. I use a renaming tool when a folder needs sorting, then leave it alone; a subscription never felt like a good fit. The renaming features are free, and 3.0 includes optional tips in Info and Credits. There have been no in-app purchases as of September 10, 2026.
I wrote more about that decision on the blog.
design
The folder preview separates files ready to rename from those needing attention. I kept that review before the batch starts, while the person can still decide what to do with it.
An exact preview in the app’s Photo Library flow would mean downloading every selected item first. I kept the folder preview and explained why Photos names appear after export.
System backgrounds follow light and dark appearance, and SF Pro keeps the controls familiar.
Fixed-width digits help dates line up in the previews and keep the live readouts steady.
