# mktemp > Create a temporary file or directory. > More information: . - Create an empty temporary file and print its absolute path: `mktemp` - Use a custom directory if `$TMPDIR` is not set (the default is platform-dependent, but usually `/tmp`): `mktemp -p {{/path/to/tempdir}}` - Use a custom path template (`X`s are replaced with random alphanumeric characters): `mktemp {{/tmp/example.XXXXXXXX}}` - Use a custom file name template: `mktemp -t {{example.XXXXXXXX}}` - Create an empty temporary directory and print its absolute path: `mktemp -d`