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MKNOD

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: February 2026
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NAME

mknod - make block or character special files

SYNOPSIS

mknod [,OPTION/]... ,NAME TYPE /[,MAJOR MINOR/]

DESCRIPTION

Create the special file NAME of the given TYPE.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#mkno-m'-m, --mode=,MODEX'tty: link'/: set file permission bits to MODE, not a=rw - umask
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#mkno-Z'-ZX'tty: link': set the SELinux security context to default type
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#mkno-context'--context[=CTX]X'tty: link': like -Z, or if CTX is specified then set the SELinux or SMACK security context to CTX
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mknod#mkno-help'--helpX'tty: link': display this help and exit
X'tty: link https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mknod#mkno-version'--versionX'tty: link': output version information and exit

Both MAJOR and MINOR must be specified when TYPE is b, c, or u, and they must be omitted when TYPE is p. If MAJOR or MINOR begins with 0x or 0X, it is interpreted as hexadecimal; otherwise, if it begins with 0, as octal; otherwise, as decimal. TYPE may be:

b: create a block (buffered) special file
c, u: create a character (unbuffered) special file
p: create a FIFO

Your shell may have its own version of mknod, which usually supersedes the version described here. Please refer to your shell's documentation for details about the options it supports.

AUTHOR

Written by David MacKenzie.

REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs to: bug-coreutils@gnu.org

Report Gentoo bugs to: https://bugs.gentoo.org/
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
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