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touch Command Cheat Sheet

touch changes file timestamps. If the file doesn't exist, it creates an empty file.

Synopsis

touch [OPTION]... FILE...

Basic Usage

Create File / Update Time

touch file.txt
- If missing: Creates it. - If exists: Updates Access & Modification time to now.

Managing Timestamps

Only Access Time (-a)

Update read time, keep modification time unchanged.

touch -a file.txt

Only Modification Time (-m)

Update modification time, keep access time unchanged.

touch -m file.txt

Specific Date/Time (-t)

Format: [[CC]YY]MMDDhhmm[.ss]

# Set to Dec 16, 2025 at 08:30
touch -t 202512160830 file.txt

Date String (-d)

Use human readable strings.

touch -d "next Thursday" file.txt
touch -d "2 hours ago" file.txt
touch -d "1 May 2024" file.txt

Reference File (-r)

Use another file's timestamp instead of current time.

touch -r reference.txt target.txt
Copies timestamps from reference.txt to target.txt.

Do Not Create (-c)

If file exists, update time. If not, do nothing (no new file).

touch -c missing_file.txt

Notes

  • Makefiles: touch is often used to "trick" make into thinking a file has been updated, forcing a recompile.