1MKDIR(1P)                  POSIX Programmer's Manual                 MKDIR(1P)
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PROLOG

6       This  manual  page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux
7       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the  corresponding
8       Linux  manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may
9       not be implemented on Linux.
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NAME

12       mkdir - make directories
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SYNOPSIS

15       mkdir [-p][-m mode] dir...
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DESCRIPTION

18       The mkdir utility shall create the directories specified by  the  oper‐
19       ands, in the order specified.
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21       For  each  dir operand, the mkdir utility shall perform actions equiva‐
22       lent to the mkdir() function defined in the System Interfaces volume of
23       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, called with the following arguments:
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25        1. The dir operand is used as the path argument.
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27        2. The  value  of  the  bitwise-inclusive  OR of S_IRWXU, S_IRWXG, and
28           S_IRWXO is used as the mode argument. (If the -m option  is  speci‐
29           fied, the mode option-argument overrides this default.)
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OPTIONS

32       The  mkdir  utility  shall  conform  to  the Base Definitions volume of
33       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 12.2, Utility Syntax Guidelines.
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35       The following options shall be supported:
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37       -m  mode
38              Set the file permission bits of the newly-created  directory  to
39              the  specified mode value. The mode option-argument shall be the
40              same as the mode operand defined for the chmod utility.  In  the
41              symbolic_mode  strings,  the  op characters '+' and '-' shall be
42              interpreted relative to an assumed initial mode of a=  rwx;  '+'
43              shall add permissions to the default mode, '-' shall delete per‐
44              missions from the default mode.
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46       -p     Create any missing intermediate pathname components.
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48       For each dir operand that does not name an existing directory,  effects
49       equivalent to those caused by the following command shall occur:
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51
52              mkdir -p -m $(umask -S),u+wx $(dirname dir) &&
53              mkdir [-m mode] dir
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55       where  the -m mode option represents that option supplied to the origi‐
56       nal invocation of mkdir, if any.
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58       Each dir operand that names an  existing  directory  shall  be  ignored
59       without error.
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OPERANDS

63       The following operand shall be supported:
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65       dir    A pathname of a directory to be created.
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67

STDIN

69       Not used.
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INPUT FILES

72       None.
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ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

75       The  following  environment  variables  shall  affect  the execution of
76       mkdir:
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78       LANG   Provide a default value for the  internationalization  variables
79              that  are  unset  or  null.  (See the Base Definitions volume of
80              IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section  8.2,  Internationalization  Vari‐
81              ables  for the precedence of internationalization variables used
82              to determine the values of locale categories.)
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84       LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values  of  all
85              the other internationalization variables.
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87       LC_CTYPE
88              Determine  the  locale  for  the  interpretation of sequences of
89              bytes of text data as characters (for  example,  single-byte  as
90              opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments).
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92       LC_MESSAGES
93              Determine  the  locale  that should be used to affect the format
94              and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.
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96       NLSPATH
97              Determine the location of message catalogs for the processing of
98              LC_MESSAGES .
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ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS

102       Default.
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STDOUT

105       Not used.
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STDERR

108       The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.
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OUTPUT FILES

111       None.
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EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

114       None.
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EXIT STATUS

117       The following exit values shall be returned:
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119        0     All  the  specified directories were created successfully or the
120              -p option was specified and all the  specified  directories  now
121              exist.
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123       >0     An error occurred.
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125

CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS

127       Default.
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129       The following sections are informative.
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APPLICATION USAGE

132       The  default  file mode for directories is a= rwx (777 on most systems)
133       with selected permissions removed in accordance with the file mode cre‐
134       ation  mask. For intermediate pathname components created by mkdir, the
135       mode is the default modified by u+ wx so that  the  subdirectories  can
136       always be created regardless of the file mode creation mask; if differ‐
137       ent ultimate permissions are desired for the intermediate  directories,
138       they can be changed afterwards with chmod.
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140       Note  that some of the requested directories may have been created even
141       if an error occurs.
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EXAMPLES

144       None.
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RATIONALE

147       The System V -m option was included to control the file mode.
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149       The System V -p option was included to create any  needed  intermediate
150       directories  and  to complement the functionality provided by rmdir for
151       removing directories in the path prefix as they become empty.   Because
152       no  error  is  produced  if  any  path component already exists, the -p
153       option is also useful to ensure that a particular directory exists.
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155       The functionality of mkdir is described substantially through a  refer‐
156       ence  to  the  mkdir()  function  in  the  System  Interfaces volume of
157       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001. For example, by default, the mode of  the  direc‐
158       tory  is affected by the file mode creation mask in accordance with the
159       specified behavior of the mkdir() function. In this way, there is  less
160       duplication  of effort required for describing details of the directory
161       creation.
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FUTURE DIRECTIONS

164       None.
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SEE ALSO

167       chmod(),  rm,  rmdir(),  umask(),  the  System  Interfaces  volume   of
168       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, mkdir()
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171       Portions  of  this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
172       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
173       --  Portable  Operating  System  Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
174       Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003  by  the  Institute  of
175       Electrical  and  Electronics  Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
176       event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and
177       The  Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard
178       is the referee document. The original Standard can be  obtained  online
179       at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .
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183IEEE/The Open Group                  2003                            MKDIR(1P)
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