tempfile

tempfile [OPTION]...

-d, --directory DIR
    Create the temporary file in the specified directory DIR. By default, tempfile uses /tmp.

-e SUFFIX
    The last few characters of the temporary filename are taken from SUFFIX. If not provided, the temporary filename has 6 random characters after the prefix.

-p PREFIX
    Use PREFIX as the directory prefix. Implies -d and defaults to TMPDIR or /tmp if that's unset

-m MODE
    Set the security mode of the file or directory to MODE (octal). Defaults to 0600 for files and 0700 for directories.

-t
    Treat the option as creating a temporary directory instead of a file.

-q, --quiet
    Suppress diagnostic messages.

-T
    Interpret the options after this option as filenames.

--tmpdir DIR
    Deprecated equivalent to the -d option.

--suffix SUFFIX
    Deprecated equivalent to the -e option.

--prefix PREFIX
    Deprecated equivalent to the -p option.

--help
    Display help message and exit.

--version
    Display version information and exit.

The tempfile command is a simple utility to create temporary files or directories. It is designed to be used in shell scripts to safely generate unique names for temporary storage. This prevents common security vulnerabilities associated with manually creating temporary files, such as race conditions and predictable file names. The tool ensures that the created files have proper permissions, and it is commonly used by developers and sysadmins who require secure temporary storage in scripts. Without the tool, the temporary files can be easily exploited and cause data breaches. The tool provides guarantees of uniqueness for the files and directories created, avoiding collision.

tempfile does not automatically delete the created temporary files or directories. Your script must handle the deletion when the files are no longer needed, typically using rm or rmdir. Failure to do so can lead to accumulating temporary files and exhausting disk space.

The command relies on the system's ability to generate random and unique names. While it significantly reduces the risk of collisions, a theoretical possibility always remains, especially under high-load conditions.

To create a unique temporary file in /tmp with a suffix '.log':
tempfile -e .log

To create a unique temporary directory in the current directory with a prefix 'my_temp':
tempfile -d . -t -p my_temp

To ensure only the owner has read write permissions on the temp file:
tempfile -m 600

tempfile is a relatively modern utility designed to address the security shortcomings of older methods of creating temporary files in shell scripts. It improves upon earlier approaches by providing guaranteed uniqueness and secure file permissions. The command's standardization across Linux distributions has made it a preferred choice for scripting. Its widespread usage aims to reduce the usage of unsafe methods for managing temporary files.

mktemp(1), mkfifo(1), rm(1), rmdir(1)