{"id":15967,"date":"2019-03-14T08:30:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T08:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/?p=15967"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:37:11","slug":"linux-touch-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","title":{"rendered":"Linux touch command: what it is + examples of how to use it to modify timestamps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>People usually associate the touch command in Linux with creating files. However, like many other Linux commands, it offers much broader functionality.<\/p><p>For example, Linux VPS users can use the touch command to change the timestamps of files or folders.<\/p><p>In this tutorial, we&rsquo;ll go over the Linux touch command and talk about its options and use cases.<\/p><p>\n\n\n\n<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-linux-touch-command-options\">Linux Touch Command Options<\/h2><p>Linux Touch Command Syntax<\/p><p><div class=\"announcement-block announcement-block--important\">\n            <span class=\"announcement-block__heading\">\n                <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\n                          d=\"M12 22.5C17.799 22.5 22.5 17.799 22.5 12C22.5 6.20101 17.799 1.5 12 1.5C6.20101 1.5 1.5 6.20101 1.5 12C1.5 17.799 6.20101 22.5 12 22.5ZM13.637 7.65198C13.637 6.74791 12.9041 6.01501 12 6.01501C11.0959 6.01501 10.363 6.74791 10.363 7.65198C10.5335 9.53749 10.875 13.383 10.875 13.383C10.875 14.0043 11.3787 14.508 12 14.508C12.6213 14.508 13.125 14.0043 13.125 13.383V13.38L13.637 7.65198ZM11.9927 15.714C11.3714 15.714 10.8677 16.2177 10.8677 16.839C10.8677 17.4603 11.3714 17.964 11.9927 17.964H12.0073C12.6286 17.964 13.1323 17.4603 13.1323 16.839C13.1323 16.2177 12.6286 15.714 12.0073 15.714H11.9927Z\"\n                          fill=\"#FEA419\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n                Important\n            <\/span>\n            <p class=\"announcement-block__content\">\n                <strong>Important!<\/strong> Before proceeding, make sure to connect to your VPS via <a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-use-putty-ssh\/\">an SSH client such as Putty<\/a>.\n            <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p><p>The syntax of the touch command is:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch [options] [file_name]<\/pre><p>Check out the table below for all the touch command options, also known as flags:<\/p><figure tabindex=\"0\" class=\"wp-block-table is-style-regular\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Flag                                                                                                        <\/td><td>Use Case<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-a<\/td><td>Change the access time<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-m<\/td><td>Change the modification time<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-c<\/td><td>Prevent creating a new file<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-h<\/td><td>Change the symbolic link timestamp<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-h<\/td><td>Change the timestamp for symbolic links<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-t &lt;stamp&gt;<\/td><td>Modify the timestamp. In this case, <strong>&lt;stamp&gt;<\/strong> follows the date-time format<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-d=&lt;string&gt;<\/td><td>Change the timestamp based on the date string<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-r=&lt;file&gt;<\/td><td>Change the timestamp based on the reference file<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>-v or &ndash;version<\/td><td>Display the touch command version<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&ndash;help<\/td><td>Display the help menu<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-file-timestamps\">File Timestamps<\/h3><p>In Linux, every file and folder has a timestamp that shows when a file&rsquo;s content or attributes were modified. There are three types of timestamps:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Access time (atime)<\/strong> &ndash; last time a file was read.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Modification time (mtime)<\/strong> &ndash; last time a file&rsquo;s content was modified. Like access time, it is also part of the file status metadata.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Changed time (ctime)<\/strong> &ndash; last time a file&rsquo;s metadata was changed. For example, permissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul><p>As a result, the Linux touch command is mainly used to manipulate file or folder access and modification time.<\/p><p>Keep in mind that there is no way to set or change <strong>ctime<\/strong> manually. Since <strong>atime<\/strong> and <strong>mtime<\/strong> are part of a file&rsquo;s status metadata, changing <strong>atime<\/strong> or <strong>mtime<\/strong> of the file results in <strong>ctime<\/strong>, which is automatically set to the current time.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-linux-touch-command-examples\">Linux touch Command Examples<\/h2><p>Here are a few useful examples of the touch command on a Linux system.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-create-a-file\">Using touch to Create a File<\/h3><p>If you use the touch command without any options, it will simply create a new empty file. If the file already exists, the touch command will update the access and modification times to the current time without changing the file contents.<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-showcases-the-touch-command-to-create-a-new-file.-Ls-l-command-shows-the-file-creation-time-stamp.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-showcases-the-touch-command-to-create-a-new-file.-Ls-l-command-shows-the-file-creation-time-stamp.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window showcases the touch command to create a new file. Ls -l command shows the file creation time stamp\" class=\"wp-image-73133\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-create-multiple-files\">Using touch to Create Multiple Files<\/h3><p>It is also possible to create multiple files using a single touch command. To do that, specify the names of the files with spaces between them. It would look like this in the command line:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch file_name1.txt file_name2.txt file_name3.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-create-empty-files.-Touch-creates-three-empty-files-as-a-result.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-create-empty-files.-Touch-creates-three-empty-files-as-a-result.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to create empty files. Touch creates three empty files as a result\" class=\"wp-image-73134\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><p>You can auto-generate file names using curl braces while creating multiple files, like in the following example:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch file_name{1..3}.txt<\/pre><p>The above touch command will create three files named <strong>file_name1.txt<\/strong>,<strong> file_name2.txt, <\/strong>and<strong> file_name3.txt<\/strong>.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-change-access-time\">Using touch to Change Access Time<\/h3><p>To change the access time of a file to the current time, use the <strong>a<\/strong> option followed by the file name with the touch command like in the following example:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -a file_name.txt<\/pre><p>Then, check the access time with the following command:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">ls -lu file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-only-file-access-time-for-a-single-file-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"732\" height=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-only-file-access-time-for-a-single-file-1.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to change only file access time for a single file\" class=\"wp-image-73136\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-change-modification-time\">Using touch to Change Modification Time<\/h3><p>The <strong>m<\/strong> option, along with the touch command, changes the modification time of a file to the current time:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -m file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-only-modification-time-of-a-given-file.-While-ls-l-command-displays-modify-time.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"728\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-only-modification-time-of-a-given-file.-While-ls-l-command-displays-modify-time.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to change only modification time of a given file. While ls -l command displays modify time\n\" class=\"wp-image-73137\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-change-access-and-modification-time\">Using touch to Change Access and Modification Time<\/h3><p>To change both access time and modification time with a single command, use the options <strong>a<\/strong> and <strong>m<\/strong> together:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -am file_name.txt<\/pre><p>Now, check the date with both of these commands:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">ls -l file_name.txt\nls -lu file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-modification-and-access-time-for-a-given-file..png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"734\" height=\"172\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-change-modification-and-access-time-for-a-given-file..png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to change modification and access time for a given file. While ls -l and ls -l displays the modification date along with the last access time\n\" class=\"wp-image-73138\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-change-access-time-without-creating-a-new-file\">Using touch to Change Access Time Without Creating a New File<\/h3><p>In some situations, you want to change an existing file&rsquo;s access and modification time to the current time without actually creating a new one. To do that, use the <strong>c<\/strong> option followed by the file name with the touch command.<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -c new_file.txt<\/pre><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-set-specific-access-and-modification-time\">Using touch to Set Specific Access and Modification Time<\/h3><p>It is also possible to set a file&rsquo;s access and modification time to a particular date by using the<strong> t<\/strong> option followed by a date-time. It would look like this:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -t 202203081047.30 file_name.txt<\/pre><p>Make sure to check whether the date changed with the following command:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">ls -lu file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-set-a-specific-timestamp-for-modification-and-access-times-for-a-given-file.-While-ls-lu-displays-the-specified-time.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"818\" height=\"110\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-set-a-specific-timestamp-for-modification-and-access-times-for-a-given-file.-While-ls-lu-displays-the-specified-time.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to set a specific timestamp for modification and access times for a given file. While ls -lu displays the specified time\n\" class=\"wp-image-73139\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 818px) 100vw, 818px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><p>Remember that the date-time format must follow the <strong>CCYYMMDDhhmm.ss <\/strong>style:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>CC<\/strong> &ndash; the first two digits of the year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>YY<\/strong> &ndash; the second two digits of the year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MM<\/strong> &ndash; the month of the year (01-12)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>DD<\/strong> &ndash; the day of the month (01-31)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>hh <\/strong>&ndash; the hour of the day (00-23)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>mm<\/strong> &ndash; the minute of the hour (00-59)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ss <\/strong>&ndash; the second of the minute (00-59)<\/li>\n<\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-change-timestamp-using-a-symbolic-link\">Using touch to Change Timestamp Using a Symbolic Link<\/h3><p>When you use a symbolically linked file name with the Linux touch command, the timestamp information for the original file, that was pointed by the link file, gets modified. To change the access and modification time to the current time for a symbolically linked file, use the <strong>h<\/strong> option:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -h SymbolicLinkFile<\/pre><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-set-timestamp-using-a-reference-file\">Using touch to Set Timestamp Using a Reference File<\/h3><p>The Linux touch command can also set a file&rsquo;s access and modification time by reading the timestamp information from another file. For example, the following touch command with the <strong>r<\/strong> option will scan the timestamp information from <strong>reference.txt<\/strong> and set these timestamp values to <strong>file_name.txt<\/strong>. Here&rsquo;s an example of the command:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -r reference.txt file_name.txt<\/pre><div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-modify-the-timestamp-format-using-a-referenced-file.-While-ls-l-command-displays-the-modification-timestamps-for-the-existing-files.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"732\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/The-terminal-window-shows-the-touch-command-to-modify-the-timestamp-format-using-a-referenced-file.-While-ls-l-command-displays-the-modification-timestamps-for-the-existing-files.png\/public\" alt=\"The terminal window shows the touch command to modify the timestamp format using a referenced file. While ls -l command displays the modification timestamps for the existing files\n\" class=\"wp-image-73140\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-touch-to-specify-the-date-and-time-as-a-string\">Using touch to Specify the Date and Time as a String<\/h3><p>You can also specify the date and time as a string by using the <strong>d<\/strong> option. The following Linux touch command example sets the date to the 8th of March, and the time is automatically set to 00:00.<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -d '8 Mar' file_name.txt<\/pre><p>Instead of specifying the date as a string, you can select the time as one. In that case, the date will be set to the current date automatically:<\/p><pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">touch -d '20:10' file_name.txt<\/pre><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a class=\"hgr-tutorials-cta hgr-tutorials-cta-vps-hosting\" href=\"\/ca\/vps-hosting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/VPS-hosting-banner.png\/w=1024,h=1024,fit=scale-down\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-77934\"  sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2><p>Manipulating access, modification, and changing times for files and folders can be helpful for any Linux user. That is where the touch command comes in.<\/p><p>In this tutorial, we&rsquo;ve covered the usage of the Linux touch command and included the most commonly used options for it. We&rsquo;ve also provided a few use cases for this command that you can try on your system.<\/p><p>If you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.<\/p><p>        <div class=\"protip\">\n            <div class=\"protip__heading\">\n                <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                    <path d=\"M1.49234 23.5024C1.23229 23.5024 0.972242 23.4024 0.782206 23.2123C0.562165 22.9923 0.452144 22.6822 0.502153 22.3722C0.562165 21.9221 1.14227 17.9113 3.00262 16.351C3.63274 15.8209 4.43289 15.5509 5.26305 15.5609C6.09321 15.5909 6.87335 15.9109 7.47347 16.4911C8.6937 17.6913 8.76371 19.6717 7.6435 20.9919C6.0832 22.8523 2.08245 23.4324 1.63237 23.4924C1.59236 23.4924 1.54235 23.4924 1.50234 23.4924L1.49234 23.5024ZM5.16303 17.5613C4.84297 17.5613 4.53291 17.6713 4.29287 17.8813C3.60274 18.4614 3.07264 19.9317 2.75258 21.242C4.06282 20.9219 5.5331 20.3918 6.11321 19.7017C6.55329 19.1716 6.54329 18.3814 6.0832 17.9213C5.85316 17.7013 5.5431 17.5713 5.20304 17.5613C5.19304 17.5613 5.17303 17.5613 5.16303 17.5613ZM11.7243 21.8821C11.4942 21.8821 11.2642 21.8021 11.0841 21.652C10.8541 21.462 10.7241 21.1819 10.7241 20.8819V15.9109L8.08358 13.2705H3.11264C2.81259 13.2705 2.53254 13.1404 2.3425 12.9104C2.15246 12.6803 2.07245 12.3803 2.12246 12.0902C2.19247 11.7102 2.84259 8.36953 4.70294 7.12929C6.33325 6.04909 8.96375 6.49918 10.244 6.80923C11.5442 4.96889 13.2546 3.4286 15.2349 2.33839C17.4553 1.11816 19.9858 0.518051 22.4963 0.498047C23.0464 0.498047 23.4865 0.948132 23.4865 1.49824C23.4865 5.0389 22.3763 9.97983 17.1753 13.7605C17.4853 15.0408 17.9354 17.6613 16.8552 19.2816C15.615 21.1419 12.2744 21.7921 11.8943 21.8621C11.8343 21.8721 11.7743 21.8821 11.7143 21.8821H11.7243ZM12.7245 16.181V19.6016C13.7146 19.2916 14.7948 18.7915 15.2049 18.1814C15.675 17.4812 15.605 16.091 15.385 14.9008C14.5248 15.3808 13.6346 15.8109 12.7245 16.181ZM9.66388 12.0302L11.9643 14.3307C13.1845 13.8306 14.3648 13.2204 15.485 12.5103C19.9358 9.51974 21.2361 5.60901 21.4561 2.53843C19.6157 2.67846 17.8254 3.20856 16.2051 4.09872C14.2847 5.14892 12.6544 6.68921 11.4942 8.54956C10.7841 9.65977 10.174 10.82 9.66388 12.0302ZM4.39289 11.2701H7.81353C8.1936 10.3599 8.63368 9.46974 9.11377 8.60957C7.92355 8.38953 6.51329 8.31952 5.81315 8.78961C5.19304 9.19968 4.70294 10.3099 4.39289 11.2701Z\" fill=\"#673DE6\"\/>\n                <\/svg>\n                <p class=\"protip__title\">\n                    Learn More Linux Commands for File Management                <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <p class=\"protip__content\"><a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-remove-files-and-folders-using-linux-command-line\/\">How to Remove Files and Directories<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-use-find-and-locate-commands-in-linux\/\">How to Locate a File<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-tar-command-with-examples\/\">How to Compress a File with Tar Command<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-chown-command\/\">How to Change File Ownership with Chown Command<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-unzip-files-linux\/\">How to Unzip Files in Linux<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/vps\/change-linux-permissions-and-owners\/\">How to Change FIle Permissions with Chmod Command<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-rename-files-in-linux\/\">How to Rename a File<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-file-command\/\">How to Check File Type<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-create-symbolic-links-in-linux\/\">How to Create a Symbolic Link (Symlink)<\/a><br>\n<a href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-use-rsync\/\">How to Synchronize Files Using rsync Command<\/a><\/p>\n                    <\/div>\n        \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People usually associate the touch command in Linux with creating files. However, like many other Linux commands, it offers much broader functionality. For example, Linux VPS users can use the touch command to change the timestamps of files or folders. In this tutorial, we&rsquo;ll go over the Linux touch command and talk about its options [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"What Is Linux Touch Command + Practical Usage Examples","rank_math_description":"The Linux touch command is a standard command used to modify the timestamps of a file. Learn how to use the touch command in this article.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"linux touch command","footnotes":""},"categories":[22703,22699],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-managing-monitoring-and-security","category-vps"],"hreflangs":[{"locale":"en-US","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":1},{"locale":"pt-BR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/br\/tutoriais\/comando-touch-linux\/","default":0},{"locale":"fr-FR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/fr\/tutoriels\/commande-touch-de-linux\/","default":0},{"locale":"es-ES","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/es\/tutoriales\/usar-comando-touch-linux-ejemplos\/","default":0},{"locale":"id-ID","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/id\/tutorial\/touch-command-linux\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-PH","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ph\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-MY","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/my\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-GB","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/uk\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-IN","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/in\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-CA","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-AU","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/au\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"en-NG","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ng\/tutorials\/linux-touch-command\/","default":0},{"locale":"es-AR","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ar\/tutoriales\/usar-comando-touch-linux-ejemplos\/","default":0},{"locale":"es-MX","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/mx\/tutoriales\/usar-comando-touch-linux-ejemplos\/","default":0},{"locale":"es-CO","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/co\/tutoriales\/usar-comando-touch-linux-ejemplos\/","default":0},{"locale":"pt-PT","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/pt\/tutoriais\/comando-touch-linux\/","default":0}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15967"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138989,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15967\/revisions\/138989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/ca\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}