You can create an (almost) empty file using the echo command like this: echo > file.txt You are not obliged to put a sample text with echo. You can view the file in Linux using cat or other viewing commands. The newly created filename.txt file will have the following text: This is a sample text. To create a new empty file using echo you can use something like this: echo 'This is a sample text' > filename.txt But if you use the redirection with echo, you can create a new file. The main use of the echo command is to simply repeat (echo) what you type on the screen. If the file with that name already exists and you write new text in it using the cat command, the new lines will be appended at the end of the file. To save and exit, use Ctrl+D terminal shortcut. You can write some new text at this time if you want but that’s not necessary. The cat command is mostly used for viewing the content of a file but you can use it to create new file as well. Create files using cat commandĪnother popular way of creating new file is by using the cat command in Linux. If a file with the same name exists already, it will update the timestamps of the file.

If the file doesn’t exist already, it will create a new empty file. One of the biggest usages of the touch command in Linux is to create a new empty file. I am using Ubuntu here but creating files in Ubuntu terminal is the same as any other Linux distribution. There are various ways of creating a new file in Linux terminal.

So how do you create a file in Linux then? Let me show you that. Things won’t look the same when you are in a command line environment. You right click in the file explorer and you would find the option of creating new file. If you have used the desktop oriented operating system such as Windows, creating file is a piece of cake. In this Linux beginner series, you’ll learn various methods to create a text file in Linux terminal.

Unix edit text file in terminal