What does `mktemp` do? Flags & examples explained

mktemp examples, explained

$ mktemp

mktempsafely create a unique temporary file or directory and print its name

$ mktemp -d

mktempsafely create a unique temporary file or directory and print its name
-dcreate a directory instead of a file

$ mktemp -p /var/tmp

mktempsafely create a unique temporary file or directory and print its name
-pcreate the file/dir in this directory instead of $TMPDIR
/var/tmpvalue for -p

$ mktemp --suffix=.json

mktempsafely create a unique temporary file or directory and print its name
--suffix=.jsonappend this suffix to the generated name

mktemp flags & options

-d	create a directory instead of a file
-u	only print an unused name without creating anything (unsafe)
-q	suppress diagnostics if creation fails
-p	create the file/dir in this directory instead of $TMPDIR
-t	interpret the template relative to the temp directory
--suffix	append this suffix to the generated name

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.