Rename Keys

Rename fields on your items, one by one or all at once with a pattern, without touching their values.

What it does

Rename Keys changes field names on every incoming item. It has two modes:

• Named keys: you list each rename as From and To. Dots reach nested fields, and a dot path in To moves the value there. user.firstName to first_name both renames the field and lifts it to the top level.
• Pattern: a regular expression is run on every field name and the matched part is replaced with Replacement. ^data_ with an empty replacement strips that prefix from every field.

Values never change, only names and positions. A field that an item does not have is skipped, not treated as an error. Renames are worked out against the original item, so swapping a and b keeps both values.

When to use it

• Fix one badly named field on a large scraped object without rebuilding the rest.
• Strip or change a prefix on every field, such as data_ or prop_.
• Match the field names another service expects before you send data to it.
• To add, change or remove fields, use Edit Fields. To keep only one field, use Pick Field.

Inputs and settings

Setting	Type	What it does
Mode	Choice	Rename keys you name, or every key matching a pattern. Options: Named keys, Pattern. Default: Named keys
Renames	List of entries	Keys to rename, and what to rename them to.
Renames (each entry) › From REQ(required)	Text	Current key. Dots address nested keys.
Renames (each entry) › To REQ(required)	Text	New key. Dots move the value to a different place.
Pattern	Text	Regular expression matched against each key name.
Replacement	Text	What the matched part becomes. Use $1 for groups. Empty removes it.
Ignore Case	Toggle	Match the pattern regardless of case. Default: Off
Apply To Nested Keys	Toggle	Rewrite keys inside nested objects too. Default: Off
On Collision	Choice	What to do when the new name is already taken. Options: Fail, Overwrite, Keep the existing key. Default: Fail

• Pattern replaces every match inside a name, not just the first. If the result would be an empty name, the field keeps its old name.
• Apply To Nested Keys is for Pattern mode. Off, only top-level names change. On, names at every depth change, including inside lists of objects.
• On Collision decides what happens when the new name already exists: Fail stops the run (the default, so no value is lost by accident), Overwrite replaces the existing value, and Keep the existing key skips that rename.

Outputs

• Output

The same items with the new field names. A single incoming item comes out as a single item; a list comes out as a list of the same length.

Dependencies and credentials

None. This node needs no connection and has no slots for other nodes.

Example workflow

1. HTML Extract returns items with fields data_title, data_price and data_url.
2. Rename Keys with Mode Pattern, Pattern ^data_ and an empty Replacement. The fields become title, price and url.
3. A second Rename Keys with Mode Named keys and one rename, From url To link, to match your sheet’s column.
4. A Google Sheets node (Data, Append Values into Worksheet) adds the items to your sheet.

Common issues

• “Renaming “…” to “…” would overwrite a value that is already there.“ The new name is already used on the item. Pick another name, or set On Collision to Overwrite or Keep the existing key.
• “Renaming “…” to “…” would overwrite a key of that name produced by another rename.“ In Pattern mode, two names become the same, for example data_id and id after stripping data_. Make the pattern more specific, or change On Collision.
• “No renames configured. Add at least one, or switch to the Pattern mode.” Named keys mode needs at least one rename with both From and To filled.
• “The Pattern mode needs a pattern. Add one, for example ^data_ .” Fill Pattern.
• A field did not change. Names are case sensitive: turn on Ignore Case in Pattern mode, or check the spelling in From. For nested fields in Pattern mode, turn on Apply To Nested Keys.

Related nodes

• Edit Fields: add, change or remove fields.
• Pick Field: keep a single field.
• Regex: change values, not names, with a pattern.