Files & folders

Linux touch command

Create an empty file, or update an existing file’s modification time.

Availability: Common Linux commands; shell built-ins and external implementations may differ by distribution.中文

Syntax

touch [OPTION]... FILE...

Examples

Create notes.txt if needed, or update its timestamps.

touch notes.txt

Copy source.txt timestamps to copy.txt.

touch -r source.txt copy.txt

Parameters, options and clauses

Option / clause	Description
`-a`	Change only the access time.
`-m`	Change only the modification time.
`-c, --no-create`	Do not create a missing file.
`-d, --date=STRING`	Use a parsed date/time instead of the current time.
`-r, --reference=FILE`	Copy timestamps from another file.
`-t STAMP`	Use a timestamp in [[CC]YY]MMDDhhmm[.ss] format.

Safety note

Review a command and its target before running it. Commands that alter files, services, accounts, disks, permissions or databases may be difficult to reverse. Test in a safe environment and keep backups.

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