Mktemp Explained

mktemp
Developer:	Todd Miller, Jim Meyering
Operating System:	Unix and Unix-like
Programming Language:	C
Platform:	Cross-platform
Genre:	Command

mktemp is a command available in many Unix-like operating systems that creates a temporary file or directory.^[1] Originally released in 1997 as part of OpenBSD 2.1,^[2] a separate implementation exists as a part of GNU Coreutils.^[3]

There used to be a similar named C library function, which is now deprecated for being unsafe, and has safer alternatives.^[4]

See also

• Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
• Temporary folder
• TMPDIR
• Unix filesystem

Notes and References

1. Web site: mktemp. Linux Standard Base Core Specification 3.1. Free Standards Group. 7 November 2015.
2. Web site: Miller. Todd C.. 7 November 2015. mktemp manual page.
3. announce: new program: mktemp . 7 October 2007 . 7 November 2015 . Meyering . Jim.
4. Web site: Temporary Files. GNU. GNU. 2 September 2019.