Create an empty file on the commandline in windows (like the linux touch command)

On a windows machine I get this error

> 'touch' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

I was following these [instructions][1] which seem to be linux specific, but on a standard windows commandline it does not work like this:

touch index.html app.js style.css

Is there a windows equivalent of the 'touch' command from the linux / mac os / unix world ? Do I need to create these files by hand (and modify them to change the timestamp) in order to implement this sort of command? I am working with node and that doesn't seem very ... node-ish...

[1]:

[To see links please register here]

Use the following command on the your command line:

fsutil file createnew filename requiredSize

The parameters info as followed:

fsutil - File system utility ( the executable you are running )

file - triggers a file action

createnew - the action to perform (create a new file)

filename - would be literally the name of the file

requiredSize - would allocate a file size in bytes in the created file

Windows does not natively include a `touch` command.

You can use any of the available public versions or you can use your own version. Save this code as `touch.cmd` and place it somewhere in your path

<!-- language: lang-dos -->

@echo off
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion

(for %%a in (%*) do if exist "%%~a" (
pushd "%%~dpa" && ( copy /b "%%~nxa"+,, & popd )
) else (
type nul > "%%~fa"
)) >nul 2>&1

It will iterate over it argument list, and for each element if it exists, update the file timestamp, else, create it.

You can also use [copy con \[filename\]][1] in a Windows command window (cmd.exe):

C:\copy con yourfile.txt [enter]
C:\CTRL + Z [enter] //hold CTRL key & press "Z" then press Enter key.
^Z
1 Files Copied.

This will create a file named `yourfile.txt` in the local directory.


[1]:

[To see links please register here]

You can replicate the functionality of touch with the following command:

$>>filename

What this does is attempts to execute a program called `$`, but if `$` does not exist (or is not an executable that produces output) then no output is produced by it. It is essentially a hack on the functionality, however you will get the following error message:

> '$' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

If you don't want the error message then you can do one of two things:

type nul >> filename

Or:

$>>filename 2>nul

The `type` command tries to display the contents of nul, which does nothing but returns an EOF (end of file) when read.

`2>nul` sends error-output (output 2) to nul (which ignores all input when written to). Obviously the second command (with `2>nul`) is made redundant by the `type` command since it is quicker to type. But at least you now have the option and the knowledge.

No command – neither `type`nor `echo`– is necessary to emulate Unix's/Mac OS X's 'touch' command in a Windows Powershell terminal. Simply use the following shorthand:

$null > filename

This will create an empty file named 'filename' at your current location. Use any filename extension that you might need, e.g. '.txt'.

Source:

[To see links please register here]

(see comments)

You can use this command: ECHO >> filename.txt

it will create a file with the given extension in the current folder.

**UPDATE:**

for an empty file use: **copy NUL filename.txt**

Easy, example with txt file

echo $null >> filename.txt

The answer is wrong, it only works when the file does not exist. If the file exists, using the first does nothing, the second adds a line at the end of the file.

The correct answer is:

copy /b filename.ext +,,

I found it here:

[To see links please register here]

Yes you can use Node for Touch I just use that and its working all fine in windows Cmd or gitbash

[![enter image description here][1]][1]


[1]: