Creating Files (touch)

The touch command creates empty files or updates timestamps on existing files. It's a quick way to create new files.

Basic Usage

touch filename.txt

What touch Does

1. If file doesn't exist: Creates an empty file
2. If file exists: Updates the modification timestamp

Creating Multiple Files

You can create several files at once:

touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

touch Options

Option	Description
-a	Change only access time
-m	Change only modification time
-c	Don't create file if it doesn't exist
-t	Use specific timestamp

Exercise: Create a New File

Create a new file called myfile.txt:

Creating Files with Content

touch creates empty files. To create files with content, use:

echo with Redirection

echo "Hello World" > greeting.txt

cat with Heredoc

cat > notes.txt << EOF
Line 1
Line 2
EOF

File Naming Best Practices

Good	Avoid
my_file.txt	my file.txt (spaces)
project-notes.md	project notes.md
data_2024.csv	data 2024.csv

Rules:

• No spaces (use underscores or hyphens)
• Lowercase preferred
• Use meaningful names
• Include extensions

Common Use Cases

Create Empty Log Files

touch app.log error.log

Create Placeholder Files

touch README.md .gitignore

Update Timestamps

touch existing_file.txt  # Updates modified time

Key Takeaways

• touch creates empty files or updates timestamps
• You can create multiple files at once
• Avoid spaces in filenames
• Use echo or cat for files with content