Polenta Touch - PTouch

Description

PTouch is a Windows clone of the Unix touch command. It creates empty files or updates the access and modification timestamps of existing files. Perfect for automation scripts, build systems, and file management tasks.

Platform: Windows 10/11 (x64)
License: Freeware
Version: 1.0.0

Features

PTouch provides full control over file timestamps with Unix-compatible options:

Create Empty Files
Create new empty files if they don't exist. Perfect for initializing log files, lock files, or placeholder files in your scripts.
Update Timestamps
Update access and modification times of existing files to the current time, or set them to specific values.
Access Time Only (-a, --access)
Update only the access time, leaving the modification time unchanged.
Modification Time Only (-m, --modify)
Update only the modification time, leaving the access time unchanged.
No Create Mode (-c, --no-create)
Don't create files if they don't exist. Only update timestamps of existing files.
Reference File (-r, --reference)
Use the timestamps from another file instead of the current time. Great for synchronizing file times.
Custom Timestamp (-t, --time)
Set a specific timestamp using formats like 202501151430 or 2501151430.
Multiple Files
Touch multiple files in a single command. Process entire directories efficiently.
Lightweight & Portable
No installation required! Just a single executable that's ready to use in your scripts, batch files, or automation workflows. Zero dependencies.
Quick Links (-ws, --website / -don, --donate)
Open the Polenta Connection website or donate page directly from the command line.

Usage

PTouch.exe [options] file1 [file2 ...]

Examples

            PTouch.exe file.txt

            Create file.txt if it doesn't exist, or update its timestamp to current time

            PTouch.exe file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

            Touch multiple files at once

            PTouch.exe -c file.txt

            Only update timestamp if file exists (don't create)

            PTouch.exe -a file.txt

            Update only the access time

            PTouch.exe -m file.txt

            Update only the modification time

            PTouch.exe -r reference.txt file.txt

            Copy timestamps from reference.txt to file.txt

            PTouch.exe -t 202501151430 file.txt

            Set timestamp to January 15, 2025 at 14:30

            PTouch.exe -t 2501151430 file.txt

            Set timestamp (year 2025, Jan 15 14:30)

            PTouch.exe -t 01151430 file.txt

            Set timestamp using current year (Jan 15 14:30)

Timestamp Format

The -t, --time option accepts timestamps in the format:

[[CC]YY]MMDDhhmm[.ss]

202501151430 = 2025-01-15 14:30:00
2501151430 = 2025-01-15 14:30:00 (year 2025)
01151430 = Current year, January 15 14:30:00
202501151430.45 = 2025-01-15 14:30:45

Download Portable Download Installer Back to Products