while ( my $html_file = $rule->match ) { rename($html_file, "$html_file.bak") or die; open(my $fh_in, '<', "$html_file.bak") or die; open(my $fh_out, '>', $html_file) or die; while (<$fh_in>) { ... # Keep (possibly edited) line print $fh_in $_; } }