# touch
## Command Function
- This command is used to create an empty file in a specified directory.
- If this command is executed to create an existing file, the execution will be successful but the timestamp will not be updated.
## Syntax
touch \[_filename_\]
## Parameters
**Table 1** Parameter description
Parameter
Description
Value Range
--help
Displays the parameters supported by the touch command.
N/A
filename
Specifies the name of the file to create.
N/A
## Usage
- The **touch** command creates an empty file that is readable and writeable.
- You can use the **touch** command to create multiple files at a time.
> **NOTICE:**
>If you run the **touch** command to create a file in a directory storing important system resources, unexpected results such as a system breakdown may occur. For example, if you run the **touch uartdev-0** command in the **/dev** directory, the system may stop responding.
## Example
Run the following commands:
- touch file.c
- touch testfile1 testfile2 testfile3
## Output
Example 1: creating the **file.c** file
```
OHOS:/tmp$ ls
OHOS:/tmp$ touch file.c
OHOS:/tmp$ ls
file.c
OHOS:/tmp$ ll
total 0
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 0 1979-12-31 00:00 file.c*
```
Example 2: creating three files \(**testfile1**, **testfile2**, and **testfile3**\)
```
*OHOS:/tmp$
OHOS:/tmp$ touch testfile1 testfile2 testfile3
OHOS:/tmp$ ll
total 0
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 0 1979-12-31 00:00 testfile1*
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 0 1979-12-31 00:00 testfile2*
-rwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 0 1979-12-31 00:00 testfile3*
OHOS:/tmp$
```