mknod — make block or character special files
Examples (TL;DR)
-
Create a block device:
sudo mknod path/to/device_file b major_device_number minor_device_number -
Create a character device:
sudo mknod path/to/device_file c major_device_number minor_device_number -
Create a FIFO (queue) device:
sudo mknod path/to/device_file p -
Create a device file with default SELinux security context:
sudo mknod -Z path/to/device_file type major_device_number minor_device_number
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.
- -m, --mode=MODE
set file permission bits to MODE, not a=rw - umask
- -Z
set the SELinux security context to default type
- --context[=CTX]
like -Z, or if CTX is specified then set the SELinux or SMACK security context to CTX
- --help
display this help and exit
- --version
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
NOTE: 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.
Reporting Bugs
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
See Also
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mknod>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) mknod invocation'
Referenced By
buffindexed.conf(5), cycbuff.conf(5), fd(4), full(4), hd(4), hier(7), initrd(4), intro(4), ioctl_console(2), lp(4), mem(4), mknod(2), null(4), perlipc(1), ram(4), random(4), tty(4), ttyS(4).