Score:0

Ubuntu

How do I create a .txt file at a location in terminal without changing the current directory?

nino dragičević

10/22/23, 7:43 PM

I need to create a .txt file at a specific location without changing the current directory with the cd command.

For example, I need to navigate to /username/Desktop with cd, and I need to create a .txt file in /username/Documents/folder

518

3 + 0

command-line

Score:1

Ubuntu

Nmath

10/22/23, 7:52 PM

The touch command will create a blank new file at the path you specify.

If you want to create example.txt in your user's Documents folder, you would use the following command:

touch ~/Documents/example.txt

-or-

touch /home/username/Documents/example.txt

Please be aware that you must specify a valid path that already exists. The example you used in your question is not a valid path, so it won't work.

+ 1

user68186

10/22/23, 8:48 PM

Other than a valid path, the user must have "write permission" to the target directory.

Score:0

Ubuntu

xerxes

10/24/23, 10:58 AM

As @Nmath emphasized, you could give the full path to the touch command and create a new file on the existing directory. You could use TAB after typing several letters of the path to see all the possibilities in the directory branch you are on. Another alternative is to use a relative path. E.g:

Check your current working directory:

$ pwd
/home/user/folder1/folder2

Then, create file using relative path:

$ touch ../../Documents/new.txt

To check if the file is created use ls and grep commands:

$ ls ../../Documents | grep new.txt
new.txt

if you get the result below the ls command you are ready to go.

+ 2

Zanna

10/25/23, 7:10 AM

It is inadvisable to parse the output of `ls` as the results may be unreliable. In this case the `grep` seems exceptionally unnecessary as one can simply `ls /path/to/file`. Also, an example using a relative path may be useful here, but why use a relative path in your scenario when the absolute path `~/Documents/new.txt` is shorter?

xerxes

11/1/23, 10:56 AM

I agree that the relative path might be longer sometimes. However, my point on using a relative path is to be able to navigate without prior knowledge of the file system tree. That being said, parsing the `ls` output also serves a purpose here. It's easier to find the exact file if the target directory contains a lot of folders and files. And direct `path/to/file` works as well. Just grep serves my choice of taste here.

Score:0

Ubuntu

mondotofu

10/23/23, 1:03 AM

You can do this with a one-line command

cd ~/Desktop ; gedit ~/Documents/Personal/afile.txt

and you'll see a visual WYSIWYG text editor. A Save button on the upper right corner will help you retain whatever you typed.

+ 0

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