Recipe 9.13. Creating Files and Directories

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9.13.1 Problem

You want to organize your files by placing them in directories. But where do directories come from? For that matter, how do you create a file?

9.13.2 Solution

Use mkdir and touch.

mkdir creates directories. Mind your filepaths! This comand creates a new subdirectory in the current directory:

$ mkdir photos

This creates a new top-level directory. Only the superuser can do this:

# mkdir /local_bins

You can set permissions when you create a directory:

# mkdir -m 755 /shared

To create a subdirectory and all of its parent directories at once, use the -p flag:

$ mkdir -p photos/scanned/jpgs/thumbs

Most files are created by a program, such as a word processor, image editor, or compiler. You can also create a new, empty file with touch:

$ touch newfile.txt

9.13.3 Discussion

touch is useful in scripting, when you need the script to create a new file. It's also useful for creating placeholders, or for populating a directory for testing things.

9.13.4 See Also

  • mkdir(1), touch(1)

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    Linux Cookbook
    Linux Cookbook
    ISBN: 0596006403
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 434

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