File Operation Patterns

Safe file operation patterns. Use when performing bulk file operations or writing deployment scripts.

Tibsfox Updated

File contents

File Operation Patterns

Safe Patterns

# Create directory tree (idempotent)
mkdir -p path/to/nested/dir

# Copy preserving permissions
cp -rp src/ dst/

# Atomic write (prevents partial reads)
tmpfile=$(mktemp "${target}.XXXXXX")
echo "$content" > "$tmpfile"
mv "$tmpfile" "$target"

# Safe deletion (guard variables)
[ -n "$DIR" ] && [ "$DIR" != "/" ] && rm -rf "$DIR"

# Incremental sync
rsync -av src/ dst/

Anti-Patterns

Don't Do
rm -rf $DIR unguarded Guard with [ -n "$DIR" ]
Write directly to target Write to temp, then mv
Assume dir exists mkdir -p first
Ignore permissions cp -p or explicit chmod

Tibsfox/gsd-skill-creator/tree/main/project-claude/skills/file-operation-patterns commit 260168f235

Frequently asked questions

npx skillmds@latest add tibsfox/file-operation-patterns