diff --git a/backend/app/routers/photos.py b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
index 2784df1..9edcfb9 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/photos.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/photos.py
@@ -410,20 +410,53 @@ async def update_photo(
     update: PhotoUpdate,
     db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)
 ):
-    """Update photo metadata"""
+    """Update photo metadata. If `filename` is included, also rename the
+    file on disk in its current directory (no cross-folder moves through
+    this endpoint).
+    """
     result = await db.execute(
         select(Photo).where(Photo.id == photo_id)
     )
     photo = result.scalar_one_or_none()
-    
+
     if not photo:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Photo not found")
-    
-    # Apply updates
+
     update_data = update.dict(exclude_unset=True)
+
+    # Filename rename: validate, rename on disk, then update both filename
+    # and filepath atomically. Done before any other field changes so a
+    # filesystem failure leaves the rest of the row untouched.
+    if 'filename' in update_data:
+        new_name = (update_data.pop('filename') or '').strip()
+        if not new_name:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Filename cannot be empty")
+        # Reject path separators and parent traversal — same-directory only.
+        if '/' in new_name or '\\' in new_name or new_name in ('.', '..'):
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Invalid filename")
+
+        if new_name != photo.filename:
+            current_dir = os.path.dirname(photo.filepath)
+            new_path = os.path.join(current_dir, new_name)
+
+            if not os.path.exists(photo.filepath):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Source file missing on disk")
+            if os.path.exists(new_path):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="A file with that name already exists")
+
+            try:
+                os.rename(photo.filepath, new_path)
+            except OSError as e:
+                logger.error(f"Failed to rename {photo.filepath} -> {new_path}: {e}")
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=f"Rename failed: {e}")
+
+            photo.filename = new_name
+            photo.filepath = new_path
+
+    # Apply remaining updates
     for field, value in update_data.items():
         setattr(photo, field, value)
-    
+
     await db.commit()
     await db.refresh(photo)
     
diff --git a/backend/app/schemas/photos.py b/backend/app/schemas/photos.py
index 4a3da4b..0af207e 100644
--- a/backend/app/schemas/photos.py
+++ b/backend/app/schemas/photos.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ class PhotoResponse(PhotoBase):
 
 class PhotoUpdate(BaseModel):
     """Photo update schema"""
+    filename: Optional[str] = None
     user_title: Optional[str] = None
     user_notes: Optional[str] = None
     rating: Optional[int] = Field(None, ge=0, le=5)
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
index ce65599..a4e1061 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/layout/RightSidebar.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import { usePhotoStore } from '../../store/photoStore'
 import { photos as photosApi, heaps as heapsApi } from '../../services/api'
 import { useActiveHeapMembers } from '../../hooks/useActiveHeapMembersQuery'
 import { HEAPS_QUERY_KEY } from '../../hooks/useHeapsQuery'
+import { toast } from '../ToastContainer'
 
 interface PhotoDetails {
   id: string
@@ -122,6 +123,7 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
   // change too.
   const updateMutation = useMutation({
     mutationFn: (data: {
+      filename?: string
       rating?: number
       is_discarded?: boolean
       user_title?: string | null
@@ -175,13 +177,42 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
   // Local drafts for the editable text fields. These mirror the server value
   // but stay independent while the user is typing, so we don't fight focus or
   // clobber edits with stale refetches.
+  const [filenameDraft, setFilenameDraft] = useState('')
   const [titleDraft, setTitleDraft] = useState('')
   const [notesDraft, setNotesDraft] = useState('')
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    setFilenameDraft(photo?.filename ?? '')
     setTitleDraft(photo?.user_title ?? '')
     setNotesDraft(photo?.user_notes ?? '')
-  }, [photo?.id, photo?.user_title, photo?.user_notes])
+  }, [photo?.id, photo?.filename, photo?.user_title, photo?.user_notes])
+
+  const commitFilename = () => {
+    const next = filenameDraft.trim()
+    const current = photo?.filename ?? ''
+    if (!next || next === current) {
+      // Reset draft if user cleared it; we never send an empty filename.
+      setFilenameDraft(current)
+      return
+    }
+    if (next.includes('/') || next.includes('\\') || next === '.' || next === '..') {
+      toast.error('Invalid filename', 'No path separators allowed')
+      setFilenameDraft(current)
+      return
+    }
+    updateMutation.mutate(
+      { filename: next },
+      {
+        onError: (e: any) => {
+          toast.error(
+            'Rename failed',
+            e?.response?.data?.detail || e.message || 'Unknown error'
+          )
+          setFilenameDraft(current)
+        },
+      }
+    )
+  }
 
   const commitTitle = () => {
     const next = titleDraft.trim()
@@ -240,6 +271,26 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
       {/* Quick Actions — operate on the active photo */}
       {photo && !multipleSelected && (
         <div className="space-y-3 border-b border-border p-4">
+          {/* Filename (editable, renames the file on disk) */}
+          <div>
+            <label className="mb-1 block text-xs text-text-muted">Filename</label>
+            <input
+              type="text"
+              value={filenameDraft}
+              onChange={(e) => setFilenameDraft(e.target.value)}
+              onBlur={commitFilename}
+              onKeyDown={(e) => {
+                if (e.key === 'Enter') {
+                  e.currentTarget.blur()
+                } else if (e.key === 'Escape') {
+                  setFilenameDraft(photo.filename ?? '')
+                  e.currentTarget.blur()
+                }
+              }}
+              className="w-full rounded border border-border bg-bg px-2 py-1 font-mono text-xs text-text focus:border-primary focus:outline-none"
+            />
+          </div>
+
           {/* Title (editable) */}
           <div>
             <label className="mb-1 block text-xs text-text-muted">Title</label>
@@ -385,7 +436,6 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
               onToggle={() => toggleSection('basic')}
             >
               <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-2 text-xs">
-                <Field label="Filename" value={photo.filename} />
                 <Field label="Size" value={formatFileSize(photo.file_size)} />
                 <Field
                   label="Dimensions"
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/api.ts b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
index 101141b..ad475df 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/api.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ export const photos = {
   },
 
   update: async (photoId: string, data: {
+    filename?: string
     rating?: number
     user_title?: string | null
     user_notes?: string | null