How do I touch every file in a directory?

Question

I'm using Amazon Linux with bash shell. I'm trying to touch every file in a certain directory, but this command is failing:

[myuser@mymachine scripts]$ find /usr/java/jboss/standalone/deployments/myapp.war -type f -exec touch '{}' ;
find: missing argument to `-exec'

How do I correct the above?

Is myapp.war a folder? – Kusalananda Jun 07 '17 at 14:53 — Kusalananda, Jun 07 '17 at 14:53

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 07 '17 at 14:52

3

-exec touch {} \;

or better yet the modern xargs-style

-exec touch {} +

as ; otherwise is used by the shell for conflicting purposes.

answered Jun 07 '17 at 14:52

thrig

1

Awesome. Posterity will note that the complete command is "find /usr/java/jboss/standalone/deployments/myapp.war -type f -exec touch {} +" – Dave Jun 07 '17 at 14:57

1 Answers1