How can I create nonexistent subdirectories recursively using Bash?

Question

I am creating a quick backup script that will dump some databases into a nice/neat directory structure and I realized that I need to test to make sure that the directories exist before I create them. The code I have works, but is there a better way to do it?

[ -d "$BACKUP_DIR" ] || mkdir "$BACKUP_DIR"
[ -d "$BACKUP_DIR/$client" ] || mkdir "$BACKUP_DIR/$client"
[ -d "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year" ] || mkdir "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year"
[ -d "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month" ] || mkdir "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month"
[ -d "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month/$day" ] || mkdir "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month/$day"

http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/49263/recursive-mkdir — Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com, Aug 16 '16 at 16:59

score 510 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

510

You can use the -p parameter, which is documented as:

-p, --parents

no error if existing, make parent directories as needed

So:

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month/$day"

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Nov 13 '09 at 20:42

bmargulies

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@bmargulies - Holy crap that was way simpler than I thought =P – Topher Fangio Nov 13 '09 at 20:48
Upvoted because you're a deletionist. Oops, already did about a year ago! – Russia Must Remove Putin Feb 03 '15 at 21:50
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It doesn't work if user has no right to read one of intermittent folders – TheKitMurkit Apr 22 '18 at 08:11
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`alias mkdirs=mkdir -p` – dr jerry Jul 24 '18 at 19:23
Is there a way to set permissions recursively too? – Saeed Neamati Jul 15 '21 at 12:03
@saeed-neamati `chmod -R` – Meow Kim Apr 12 '23 at 08:36

score 73 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 27 '21 at 17:55

73

mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR/$client/$year/$month/$day"

edited Oct 27 '21 at 17:55

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 13 '09 at 20:44

Jonathan Feinberg

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score 26 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 27 '21 at 18:07

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While existing answers definitely solve the purpose, if you’re looking to replicate a nested directory structure under two different subdirectories, then you can do this:

mkdir -p {main,test}/{resources,scala/com/company}

It will create the following directory structure under the directory from where it is invoked:

├── main
│   ├── resources
│   └── scala
│       └── com
│           └── company
└── test
    ├── resources
    └── scala
        └── com
            └── company

The example was taken from this link for creating an SBT directory structure.

edited Oct 27 '21 at 18:07

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 22 '17 at 04:50

y2k-shubham

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You may want to explain what `{...,...}` is in bash and why what your doing makes sense. A short explanation of the *brace expansion* would be beneficial to other users. A "you can do this" and get "this" leaves a bit to the imagination. – David C. Rankin Dec 22 '17 at 05:43
I agree with @DavidC.Rankin. This answer is perfect IMHO, but it needs explaining what the bracket notation actually does. – Delali Dec 09 '18 at 15:44

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 24 '19 at 22:37

0

mkdir -p newDir/subdir{1..8}
ls newDir/
subdir1 subdir2 subdir3 subdir4 subdir5 subdir6 subdir7 subdir8

edited Oct 24 '19 at 22:37

Das_Geek

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answered Oct 24 '19 at 22:08

nitrohuffer2001

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This will just create 8 sub-directories in `newDir/`. – csabinho Oct 24 '19 at 22:47

How can I create nonexistent subdirectories recursively using Bash?

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