Introduction – A file is nothing but a container in a Linux based system for storing information. For example, music stored in a file named foo.mp4. Similarly, my cat’s picture stored in kitten.jpg and so on. This page shows various methods to create a file in Linux using the terminal window.
| Tutorial details | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty level | Easy |
| Root privileges | No |
| Requirements | Bash shell/terminal on Linux |
| Est. reading time | 3 minutes |
How to create a file in Linux from terminal window?
- Create an empty text file named foo.txt:
touch foo.bar
OR
> foo.bar - Make a text file on Linux:
cat > filename.txt - Add data and press CTRL+D to save the filename.txt when using cat on Linux
- Run shell command:
echo 'This is a test' > data.txt - Append text to existing file in Linux:
echo 'yet another line' >> data.txt
Let us see some examples for creating a text files on Linux operating systems.
How to create a text file using the cat command
To create a text file named sales.txt, type the following command and then press [Enter] key:
cat > sales.txt
Now type your lines of text. For example:
Month, Profit 01/Apr/2004, $1500 01/May/2004, $1600 01/Jun/2004, $1450 01/Jul/2004, $1950 01/Aug/2004, $3950 01/Sep/2004, $2950 01/Oct/2004, $1750 01/Nov/2004, $1950 01/Dec/2004, $3250
When done and you need to save and exit, press Ctrl+D to return to the bash shell prompt. To view file use cat or more command/less command:
cat sales.txt
more sales.txt
How to create a file in Linux from terminal window
See also: Redirection of standard output
How to create an empty text file using the touch command
Simply type any one of the following command:
> data.txt
OR
touch test.txt
Verify that empty files are created with the help of ls command:
ls -l data.txt test.txt
Creating a file in Linux using the echo or printf
Let us create a file called quote1.txt using echo command, enter:
echo "While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die." > quote1.txt
OR use the printf command
printf 'Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.\n' > quote2.txt
Appending data
Use the the >> instead of > to append data to existing file and to avoid overwriting files. The syntax is:
echo "There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path." >> quote1.txt printf 'It is ridiculous to think that somebody else can make you happy or unhappy.\n' >> quote2.txt printf 'Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. -- Buddha\n' >> quote2.txt
How to create a file in Linux using joe text editor
JOE is text editor. To create a file called delta.txt, type:
joe -help delta.txt
You will see help menu on screen. Next type something. To save the file and leave joe, by typing ^KX (press CTRL+K+X).
How to create a text file in Linux using vi / vim text editor
The vi / vim is another text editor. To create a file called purchase.txt, type:
vi purchase.txt
OR
vim purchase.txt
Press i to insert new text. To save the file and leave vi, type ESC+:+x (press ESC key, type : followed by x and [enter] key).
Conclusion
You learned various methods that allow you to create text files in a Linux or Unix/macOS terminal window quickly.
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Bash create a file in Linux:
touch lock.fileI needed to create a file containing a newline:
echo '' > fooprintf '\n' > bar
In my shell script I put
EMACS or GTFO
emacs fileYou kids get off my lawn!
How to do this (creating non-empty file) from executable .sh file? Since we don’t have the option to press Ctrl+D while running executable .sh file.
In your script you put something as follows:
#!/bin/sh file="/tmp/bar.txt" echo "Creating non-empty file called /tmp/foo.txt ..." echo "This is a test" > /tmp/foo.txt echo "Creating another file called ${file} ..." echo "Thursday" > "${file}" ## append ## echo "Friday" >> "${file}"Use the cat command to view those two files.
cat /tmp/foot.txt /tmp/bar.txt@Vivek-
i am new to shell scripting side and learning
How to create a file using shell scripting ? Like format should be name_fol, i need to specify the name like Kenny or Jenny when it prompts and the script needs to create a file Kenny_fol.txt or Jenny_fol.txt ..
please help
Try the following:
#!/bin/bash file="" read -p "May I know your file name please? " filename file="${filename}_fol.txt" echo "Creating $file ..." echo "$(date)" >"$file"cat > filename.txtSmall missprint, you meant
cat > filename.txtOh, yes. Thank you for the heads up!