Unix touch Command in Powershell

The Unix command line is superior to PowerShell. Unix commands easily fit in the mind. PowerShell feels like it’s in the way. Creating a new file is a prime example:

In Unix

touch name_of_your_file.txt

In Powershell

New-Item -Path name_of_your_file.txt -ItemType File

So, let’s put the Unix touch command in PowerShell.

Step 1 — Open the Powershell $PROFILE

The PowerShell $PROFILE is a special environment variable that points to a script that runs at the start of every PowerShell session. You can use it to define custom functions. Find it’s location by typing:

$PROFILE

into PowerShell. You’ll get an output like this:

C:\Users\Connor\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

Open this file in the text editor of your choice.

Step 2 — Add the touch function

Add the following function to your profile:

function touch {
    param([string]$file)

    if (Test-Path $file) {
        # Update the timestamp if the file exists
        Set-ItemProperty -Path $file -Name LastWriteTime -Value (Get-Date)
    }
    else {
        # Create a new file if it doesn't exist
        New-Item -Path $file -ItemType File
    }
}

Save the profile, go back to your terminal and run:

. $PROFILE

This will reload your $PROFILE script and give you access to the function. Try it out with:

touch oh_my_god_this_is_so_much_easier.txt

Final Words

There you go, about 2 minutes saved per infrequent file creation. Happy file creating! 📁