Linux

mkdir — Create Directories in Linux

Create single or nested directories with mkdir. Master -p for deep paths and brace expansion to scaffold entire project structures in one command.

January 10, 20254 min read

LinuxFilesFilesystem

mkdir (make directory) creates new folders. It seems simple, but the -p flag combined with brace expansion lets you scaffold an entire project skeleton — directories, subdirectories, the whole tree — in a single command.

Options

mkdir Options

Option	Long Form	Description
`-p`	`--parents`	Create parent directories as needed — no error if already exists
`-m MODE`	`--mode=MODE`	Set permissions on creation (e.g. `755`)
`-v`	`--verbose`	Print a message for each directory created

Basic Creation

mkdir new_folder             # Create a single directory
mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3         # Create multiple at once

Nested Directories with -p

Without -p, every parent directory in the path must already exist. With -p, mkdir creates the entire chain — parents, children, grandchildren — in one shot. It also doesn't fail if the directory already exists, making it safe to use in scripts.

# Without -p — fails if parent doesn't exist
mkdir parent/child/grandchild
# mkdir: cannot create directory 'parent/child/grandchild': No such file or directory

# With -p — creates the entire path
mkdir -p parent/child/grandchild    # ✓ Works always

# Verbose: see exactly what was created
mkdir -pv a/b/c
# mkdir: created directory 'a'
# mkdir: created directory 'a/b'
# mkdir: created directory 'a/b/c'

Brace Expansion — Scaffold Projects Instantly

Brace expansion {a,b,c} is a shell feature (not specific to mkdir) that expands into multiple arguments. Combined with mkdir -p, you can create complex directory trees with one line.

# Simple: create src, docs, tests under project/
mkdir -p project/{src,docs,tests}
# Creates:
#   project/src/
#   project/docs/
#   project/tests/

# Nested: multi-level project structure
mkdir -p project/{src/{components,utils,hooks},docs,tests/{unit,e2e}}
# Creates:
#   project/src/components/
#   project/src/utils/
#   project/src/hooks/
#   project/docs/
#   project/tests/unit/
#   project/tests/e2e/

# Numerical ranges
mkdir -p logs/{2023,2024,2025}/{jan,feb,mar}
# Creates year/month folders

Setting Permissions

mkdir -m 755 public_dir      # rwxr-xr-x — anyone can read
mkdir -m 700 private_dir     # rwx------ — owner only (good for .ssh)
mkdir -m 777 shared_dir      # rwxrwxrwx — everyone can write

Quick Check

You want to create `~/projects/webapp/src/components` but none of the intermediate directories exist. Which command works?

Exercise

Scaffold a full project structure in one command:

Create this tree using a single mkdir -p with brace expansion:

myapp/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── api/
│   └── utils/
├── public/
├── tests/
└── docs/

Then verify with tree myapp or ls -R myapp.