Skip to content

Linux touch Guide

Jump to bottom
Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux touch Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to touch on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including creating files, updating timestamps, and file management.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding touch
  2. touch Basics
  3. Creating Files
  4. Updating Timestamps
  5. Troubleshooting

Understanding touch

What is touch?

touch creates empty files or updates timestamps.

Uses:

  • Create files: Make empty files
  • Update timestamps: Change file times
  • File management: Manage file times
  • Scripts: Create files in scripts

Why it matters:

  • File creation: Quick file creation
  • Timestamp management: Update file times
  • Scripting: Useful in automation

touch Basics

Create File

Basic usage:

# Create empty file
touch file.txt

# Create multiple files
touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

Update Timestamp

Update time:

# Update timestamp
touch existing-file.txt

# Updates access and modification time

Creating Files

With Path

Create in location:

# Create with path
touch /path/to/file.txt

# Creates file at path

Multiple Files

Create several:

# Create multiple
touch file{1..10}.txt

# Creates file1.txt through file10.txt

⏰ Updating Timestamps

Set Specific Time

Custom timestamp:

# Set specific time
touch -t 202401151200 file.txt

# Format: YYYYMMDDHHMM

Reference File

Match another file:

# Match reference file
touch -r reference.txt file.txt

# Copies timestamp from reference

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied

Fix permissions:

# Check directory permissions
ls -ld /path/to/directory

# Use sudo if needed
sudo touch /path/to/file.txt

Summary

This guide covered touch usage, file creation, and timestamp 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.

Clone this wiki locally