TOUCH(1plan9)

📦 version 6, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

🎀 NAME 🎀

okay so bestie, meet touch — she sets the modification date of a file. that's it. that's her whole thing. and she eats every single time. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

touch [ -c ] [ -t time ] file ...

literally just that. short. sweet. iconic. no cap.

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so like, touch tries to set the modification time of the files to time — and if you don't give it a time, it just uses the current time by default. queen behavior honestly. ⏰✨

and here's the part where she gets a lil magical: if a file does not exist, touch will create it. new file, who dis? 🌸

but wait — if option -c is present, she will NOT create it. no file, no touch, no drama. the -c is giving "i'm not doing all that." 💀

the options, since we're being thorough:

  • -c — don't create the file if it isn't already there. she simply won't.
  • -t time — set the modification time to time instead of the current time. you pick the vibe, she applies it. 🔥

🧚 SOURCE 🧚

the origin story lives at:

/src/cmd/touch.c

yes bestie, we read the source. iykyk. 👑

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go be nosy, these are the besties in the same friend group:

💀 BUGS 💀

okay so there's one little thing and it's lowkey tragic:

touch will not touch directories. 🫠

directories are simply not on her radar. she said "not my genre." periodt.

and that's the whole page, bestie — this was the 1plan9 manual, TOUCH(1plan9), and yes the footer says the exact same thing as the header because that's just how these pages roll 💖 stay slaying, go touch some files (not directories tho) ✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from