mktemp(1) General Commands Manual mktemp(1)
NAME
mktemp - make a name for a temporary file
SYNOPSIS
directory_name] prefix]
DESCRIPTION
makes a name that is suitable for use as the pathname of a temporary file, and writes that name to the standard output. The name is chosen
such that it does not duplicate the name of an existing file. If the option is specified, a zero-length file is created with the generated
name.
The name generated by is the concatenation of a directory name, a slash the value of the environment variable truncated to - 6 characters,
and the process ID of the invoking process.
The directory name is chosen as follows:
1. If the option is specified, directory_name is used.
2. Otherwise, if the environment variable is set and a string that would yield a unique name can be obtained by using the value of
that variable as a directory name, this value is used.
3. Otherwise, if a string that would yield a unique name can be obtained using as the directory, is used.
4. Otherwise, (current directory) is used.
If the option is specified, prefix is used instead of the value of the environment variable for name generation.
RETURN VALUE
returns zero on successful completion and non-zero if syntax, file access, or file creation errors were encountered or a unique pathname
could not be generated.
SEE ALSO
mktemp(3C), umask(1).
mktemp(1)