Create a Directory Structure

A school might organize reports by term: a school folder with term1 inside it. A directory stores entries such as filenames and subdirectory names, helping you arrange a useful hierarchy. You create a directory with mkdir, not with the file-creation command touch.

There is one practical wrinkle: the parent folder may not exist yet. We will use the parent-creation option so the command can build the path from the missing components, rather than expecting every level to have been prepared earlier.

Prepare the example

Begin in a fresh folder you own. We want school/term1 beneath that folder. Read the slash as the boundary between a parent directory name and its child; it is not part of either individual name.

Bash · Linux terminal

mkdir -p school/term1
test -d school/term1 && printf 'Term directory ready\n'

Expected result

Term directory ready

mkdir -p school/term1 creates missing parent directories and the final directory. Without -p, asking for a child beneath a missing parent would fail. The option also accepts an already-existing directory path rather than treating that alone as an error.

The second line checks the final path with test -d. Its message appears only when that path is a directory. If creation fails, inspect the diagnostic and the parent path: a regular file occupying a component name, or lack of access to the parent, can prevent the operation. Adding more options will not fix a path that describes a different place from the one you intended.

A Linux directory is a folder that can contain files and other directories. The command used to create one is mkdir, short for “make directory.”

What is a Directory?

A directory is like a container where you can organize files and other directories. It's just a fancy word for a folder in Linux.

Open a terminal where you want the directory

Whether you're using Ubuntu, Fedora, or any other Linux distribution, open your terminal window. We're going to use the mkdir command — which stands for "make directory".

mkdir syntax for creating directories

mkdir <directory-name>

Let’s try a basic example. Suppose you want to create a folder called projects.

Example 1: Creating a Single Directory

mkdir projects

No output means it worked!

Now if you type:

ls

projects

You’ll see your new folder listed.

Example 2: Creating Multiple Directories

You can create more than one directory at a time by listing them in the mkdir command:

mkdir images videos documents

No output means all 3 were created!

Example 3: Creating Nested Directories

Want to create a folder inside another folder? Use the -p flag (this stands for "parent"):

mkdir -p tutorials/linux/basics

No errors? Your nested folders are all ready!

Without -p, you’d get an error if the parent folders don’t exist. So -p is super helpful.

Check It Out with Tree

If you have the tree command installed, you can see your directory structure visually:

tree tutorials

tutorials
└── linux
    └── basics

Build directory paths with mkdir

• mkdir is used to make directories
• -p lets you create nested directories
• You can create multiple directories at once

Your task: Create term1 when school may not exist.

Begin in a fresh folder you own. We want school/term1 beneath that folder. Read the slash as the boundary between a parent directory name and its child; it is not part of either individual name.

Bash · complete example for this question

mkdir -p school/term1
test -d school/term1 && printf 'Term directory ready\n'

Expected result

Term directory ready

Worked answer

mkdir -p school/term1

Choose mkdir -p school/term1 when school may be missing. touch creates regular files, so it is not the right way to build this directory hierarchy. You can confirm the result by listing the school folder or checking the final directory path.

Use mkdir to create directory entries and -p when missing parents are part of the task. A nested path still starts from your current directory unless it is absolute. Verify the final directory before writing files beneath it.