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Linux mkdir Guide

Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 3 revisions

Linux mkdir Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to mkdir on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including directory creation, parent directories, and directory management.


Table of Contents

  1. mkdir Basics
  2. Creating Directories
  3. Parent Directories
  4. Permissions
  5. Troubleshooting

mkdir Basics

Create Directory

Basic usage:

# Create directory
mkdir newdir

# Creates directory in current location

Multiple Directories

Create multiple:

# Multiple directories
mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3

# Creates all directories

Creating Directories

Single Directory

One directory:

# Create one directory
mkdir mydir

# Creates mydir/

Nested Directories

Nested structure:

# Nested directories
mkdir -p path/to/nested/dir

# -p = parents (creates parent directories)

Parent Directories

Create Parents

Parent directories:

# Create parent directories
mkdir -p /path/to/new/dir

# -p creates all parent directories if missing

No Error if Exists

Ignore existing:

# No error if exists
mkdir -p existingdir

# -p doesn't error if directory exists

Permissions

Set Permissions

Custom permissions:

# Set permissions
mkdir -m 755 mydir

# -m = mode (sets permissions: 755)

Default Permissions

Default mode:

# Uses umask for default permissions
mkdir mydir

# Permissions based on umask

Troubleshooting

mkdir Not Found

Check installation:

# mkdir is part of coreutils
# Usually pre-installed

# Check mkdir
which mkdir

Summary

This guide covered mkdir usage, directory creation, and directory management for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.


Next Steps


This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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