Name

mktemp - create a temporary file or directory

Synopsis

$ mktemp [--directory] [--dry-run] [--quiet] [--tmpdir DIR] [template]

Description

mktemp creates temporary a file or directory safely, and then prints its name.

A template may be specified and will be used instead of the default tmp.XXXXXXXXXX as long as it contains at least 3 consecutive 'X's.

Options

• -d, --directory: Create a temporary directory instead of a file
• -u, --dry-run: Do not create anything, just print a unique name
• -q, --quiet: Do not print diagnostics about file/directory creation failure
• -p, --tmpdir: Create temporary files relative to this directory

Examples

# Create a temporary file
$ mktemp
# Find an available temporary file name
$ mktemp -u
# Create a temporary directory with a custom template
$ mktemp -d minerva.XXXXX

See also

• mkdir(1) to create a regular directory
• touch(1) to create a regular file