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FLAVIO COPES
flaviocopes.com
2026

Linux commands: touch

By Flavio Copes

Learn how the Linux touch command creates a new empty file, and how running it on a file that already exists just updates that file's modification timestamp.

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You can create an empty file using the touch command:

touch apple

If the file already exists, it opens the file in write mode, and the timestamp of the file is updated.

This command works on Linux, macOS, WSL, and anywhere you have a UNIX environment

Tagged: CLI · All topics
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