touch: Linux Commands HowTo
touch: Change file timestamps
Change file timestamps, change the access and/or modification
times of the specified files.
Syntax
touch [options]... File...
Options
-a
--time=atime
--time=access
--time=use
Change the access time only.
-c
--no-create
Do not create files that do not exist.
-d
--date=time
Use time instead of the current time. It can contain month names,
timezones, `am? and `pm?, etc.
-f Ignored; for compatibility with BSD versions of `touch?.
-m
--time=mtime
--time=modify
Change the modification time only.
-r FILE
--reference=FILE
Use the times of the reference FILE instead of the current time.
-t [[CC]YY]MMDDhhmm[.ss]
Set to a specific time.
The -t argument will accept four-digit or two-digit years, specifying the seconds is optional. If no digits of the year are specified, the argument is
interpreted as a date in the current year.
If two-digit year is specified, then CC
is 20 for years in the range 0 ... 68, and 19 for year in 69 ...
99.
If the first FILE would be a valid argument to the `-t?
option and no timestamp is given with any of the `-d?, `-r?, or `-t? options
and the `--? argument is not given, that argument is interpreted as the time
for the other files instead of as a file name.
Any FILE that does not exist is created empty.
If changing both the access and modification times to the current
time, `touch? can change the timestamps for files that the user running it does
not own but has write permission for. Otherwise, the user must own the files.
Examples
Create/datestamp one file called sample.txt:
touch sample.txt
Create/datestamp 10 files called file1, file2 etc:
touch file{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
Create/datestamp 100 files called file1, file2 etc:
for i in $(seq 1 100); do echo -n "file${i} "; touch file${i} 2>&1; done
"If you play it safe you stagnate is this league. Maybe we?ll
bust, but if we hit it, we?ll hit it big." - Jimmy
Johnson, coach of the Miami Dolphins
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