How to create a directory in Linux?


There are different ways to create a directory (folder) in your Linux system. If you are using a desktop environment then you can use the file manager to create or delete a directory.

Another way is to use mkdir commands provided by your operating system. By using mkdir you can create single or multiple directories using a single command. In this article, we will see how you can create a directory using a terminal in Linux.

How to create a directory using terminal

For creating a directory in Linux/ Unix mkdir command is used. The syntax of mkdir command is given below –

mkdir [option] [directory_name]

For example –

To create a directory dir1 inside your current working directory use the following command –

mkdir dir1

You can view the created directory by using ls command –

ls

If dir1 is already there it will display the message ” mkdir: can’t create directory ‘dir1’: File exists “.

Creating a directory to a specific location in the filesystem you need to use the full path from your current location in the terminal. For instance, to create a directory dir1 inside the /usr directory we will use –

mkdir /usr/dir1
[alert color=yellow ]Please note that while creating a directory at some places such as inside the /root directory in the filesystem you may need to have the root privileges. So use the sudo at the beginning of the command.[/alert]

Creating multiple directories using a single command

Let’s say you want to create multiple directories i.e. dir1, dir2, dir3 inside the current working directory then use the following command –

mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3

Now if you run the ls command you can see the created directories inside your current working directory.

ls

How to create a hidden directory

To create a new hidden directory dir1 inside your current working directory you need to use the following command –

mkdir .dir1

To display hidden directories in your terminal use –

ls -a

To make dir1 visible use –

mv .dir1 dir1

How to create nested directories using mkdir command

Nesting of directories means creating one directory inside another. You need to use the option -p with mkdir command to create multiple nested directories. Now use the following command to create nested directories –

mkdir-p dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4

You can replace the directory’s names with yours.

Now you can see the nested directory structure using the tree command as it is given below –

tree dir1

How to create a directory and set permissions on it

You can set permissions on directories while creating them. You need to use -m option with mkdir command. To set permission read, write, and execute for all on dir1 you can use the following command in your terminal –

mkdir -m 777 dir1

For more options to use with mkdir you can see its manual page by using –

man mkdir

Conclusion

Now you know how to use mkdir command if you have a query feel free to leave it in the comments below.

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