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Empty a file

Terminal - Empty a file
truncate -s0 file
2009-10-24 16:31:03
User: pipping
5
Up
Down
Empty a file

The downside of output redirection is that you need permissions. So something like

> file

won't play nicely w/ sudo. You'd need to do something like

bash -c '> file'

instead, you could go w/

sudo truncate -s0 file
Add to favourites | Report as malicious

Alternatives

There are 6 alternatives - vote for the best!

Terminal - Alternatives
> file.txt
2009-01-26 10:22:31
User: root
239
Up
Down
Empty a file

For when you want to flush all content from a file without removing it (hat-tip to Marc Kilgus).

Comments (15) | Add to favourites | Report as malicious
> file
2010-12-26 14:17:13
User: Juev
9
Up
Down
Create a new file
Comments (0) | Add to favourites | Report as malicious
:> file
2010-09-23 12:33:55
User: krissi
7
Up
Down
Empty a file
Comments (0) | Add to favourites | Report as malicious
> foobar.txt
2009-12-29 08:08:15
User: unixmonkey7657
4
Up
Down
Empty a file
Comments (1) | Add to favourites | Report as malicious
> [filename]
2011-05-18 14:59:02
User: bbbco
Tags: redirect Linux UNIX touch
-3
Up
Down
Empty a file of contents

Ever need to erase the contents of a file and start over from scratch? This easy command allows you to do so. Be warned! This will immediately erase all the contents of your file and start you over from scratch (i.e. your file will be at 0 bytes, like if you touch a file).

Show sample output | Comments (3) | Add to favourites | Report as malicious

Know a better way?

If you can do better, submit your command here.

What others think

I prefer the :> way since it works in zsh as well as bash. Plain > doesn't w/out an extra Ctrl-D sequence

Comment by unixmonkey14934 76 weeks ago

Your point of view

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