std::rename (3) Linux Manual Page

std::rename – std::rename

Synopsis

Defined in header<cstdio>

    int rename(const char *old_filename, const char *new_filename);

Changes the filename of a file. The file is identified by character string pointed to by old_filename. The new filename is identified by character string pointed to by new_filename.
If new_filename exists, the behavior is implementation-defined.

Parameters

old_filename – pointer to a null-terminated string containing the path identifying the file to rename
new_filename – pointer to a null-terminated string containing the new path of the file

Return value

0 upon success or non-zero value on error.

Notes

POSIX specifies many additional details on the semantics of this function, which are reproduced in C++ by std::experimental::filesystem::rename.

Example

// Run this code

#include <iostream>

#include <fstream>

#include <cstdio>

int main()

{
    bool ok{std::ofstream("from.txt").put('a')}; // create and write to file
    if (!ok) {
        std::perror("Error creating from.txt");
        return 1;
    }
    if (std::rename("from.txt", "to.txt")) {
        std::perror("Error renaming");
        return 1;
    }
    std::cout << std::ifstream("to.txt").rdbuf() << '\n'; // print file
}

Output:

  a

See also

rename moves or renames a file or directory
        (function)
(C++17)
        erases a file
remove (function)