On Unix-like operating systems, the mkdir command creates new directories in a file system.

This page covers the GNU/Linux version of mkdir.

Syntax

mkdir [-m=mode] [-p] [-v] [-Z=context] directory [directory …]

mkdir –version

mkdir –help

Options

Exit status

mkdir returns an exit status of zero if all operations were successful, or a non-zero exit status if operations failed.

  • Syntax
  • Options
  • Exit status
  • Examples
  • Related commands
  • Linux commands help

Examples

mkdir myfiles

Create a new directory named myfiles in the current directory.

mkdir ~/myfiles

Create the directory myfiles in your home directory, specified here with a tilde ("~"). For more information about using ~ to represent your home directory, see tilde expansion in bash.

mkdir -m a=rwx mydir

Create the mydir directory, and set its file mode (-m) so that all users (a) may read (r), write (w), and execute (x) it.

For directories, this means that users on the system may view (“read”), and create/modify/delete (“write”) files in the directory. Users may also change to (“execute”) the directory, for example with the cd command.

chdir -m 777 mydir

Same as the command above, but using a numerical file mode. Grants read, write, and execute permissions to the directory for all users. (For more information about file modes, see chmod).

mkdir -p /home/hope/Documents/pdf

Creates the directory /home/hope/Documents/pdf. If any of the parent directories /home, /home/hope, or /home/hope/Documents do not already exist, they are automatically created.

rmdir — Remove a directory.