tldr/pages/linux/mktemp.md

mktemp

Create a temporary file or directory. More information: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/mktemp-invocation.html.

• Create an empty temporary file and print its absolute path:

mktemp

• Use a custom directory (defaults to $TMPDIR, or /tmp):

mktemp {{[-p |--tmpdir=]}}/{{path/to/temporary_directory}}

• Use a custom path template (Xs are replaced with random alphanumeric characters):

mktemp {{/tmp/example.XXXXXXXX}}

• Use a custom file name template:

mktemp -t {{example.XXXXXXXX}}

• Create an empty temporary file with the given suffix and print its absolute path:

mktemp --suffix {{.ext}}

• Create an empty temporary directory and print its absolute path:

mktemp {{[-d|--directory]}}

• Print the name of a temporary file or directory without actually creating it:

mktemp {{[-u|--dry-run]}}