MKNOD(1)

NAME
mknod - make block or character special files

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

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.

AUTHOR
Written by David MacKenzie.

REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to: bug-coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2026 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
mknod(2)

Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/mknod>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) mknod invocation'