mkdir (create directories) in Linux CLI - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this mkdir command?

You run the command mkdir -p /tmp/testdir/subdir on a Linux system. What happens if /tmp/testdir does not exist?

Linux CLI

mkdir -p /tmp/testdir/subdir

A Both /tmp/testdir and /tmp/testdir/subdir directories are created without error.

B Only /tmp/testdir/subdir is created; /tmp/testdir must exist first or it errors.

C The command fails with a permission denied error.

D The command creates a file named subdir inside /tmp/testdir.

💡 Hint

The -p option helps create parent directories if missing.

The -p flag tells mkdir to create parent directories as needed. So if /tmp/testdir doesn't exist, it will be created first, then subdir inside it.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What error does this mkdir command produce?

You run mkdir /root/newdir as a normal user (not root). What is the expected output?

Linux CLI

mkdir /root/newdir

A mkdir: invalid option -- 'r'

B Directory /root/newdir created successfully.

C mkdir: missing operand

D mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/root/newdir’: Permission denied

💡 Hint

Normal users usually cannot write inside /root directory.

The /root directory is owned by root user only. Normal users lack permission to create directories there, so mkdir fails with a permission denied error.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which mkdir command creates multiple directories at once?

You want to create three directories named dir1, dir2, and dir3 in your current folder with one command. Which option is correct?

A mkdir dir1 dir2 dir3

B mkdir -p dir1,dir2,dir3

C mkdir dir1; mkdir dir2; mkdir dir3

D mkdir -m dir1 dir2 dir3

💡 Hint

mkdir can take multiple directory names separated by spaces.

The mkdir command accepts multiple directory names separated by spaces to create them all at once. Option A does this correctly.

💻 Command Output

advanced

What is the effect of this mkdir command with -m option?

You run mkdir -m 700 secret. What are the permissions of the created directory?

Linux CLI

mkdir -m 700 secret

A The directory 'secret' is created with default permissions 755.

B The command fails with an invalid mode error.

C The directory 'secret' is created with permissions rwx------ (only owner can read, write, execute).

D The directory 'secret' is created with permissions rwxrwxrwx.

💡 Hint

The -m option sets the permission mode of the new directory.

The -m 700 option sets permissions so only the owner has read, write, and execute rights. Others have no permissions.

🚀 Application

expert

How many directories are created by this command?

You run mkdir -p /tmp/a/b/c /tmp/a/d/e. How many new directories are created if none of these exist?

Linux CLI

mkdir -p /tmp/a/b/c /tmp/a/d/e

A 2 directories: /tmp/a/b/c and /tmp/a/d/e only

B 5 directories: /tmp/a, /tmp/a/b, /tmp/a/b/c, /tmp/a/d, /tmp/a/d/e

C 3 directories: /tmp/a/b/c, /tmp/a/d/e, /tmp/a

D 6 directories: /tmp, /tmp/a, /tmp/a/b, /tmp/a/b/c, /tmp/a/d, /tmp/a/d/e

💡 Hint

The -p option creates all missing parent directories for each path.

The command creates /tmp/a first, then /tmp/a/b, then /tmp/a/b/c for the first path. For the second path, /tmp/a/d and /tmp/a/d/e are created. /tmp exists already, so not counted.