how to create multiple folders at once

You can create multiple folders at once using built‑in tools like Command Prompt, PowerShell, Finder/Terminal, or batch files, so you don’t have to click “New folder” over and over.

How to Create Multiple Folders at Once

1. Windows: Command Prompt (simple names)

Use this when you just want several folders in one place.

1. Open the folder where you want the new folders.
2. Click in the address bar, type cmd, and press Enter (Command Prompt opens at that location).

3. Type a command like:

   cmd
   
   md ProjectA ProjectB ProjectC
   

4. Press Enter – all those folders appear at once.

You can list any folder names you want after md, separated by spaces.

2. Windows: PowerShell (more flexible)

PowerShell is great when you have a list of names.

1. In the folder where you want the folders, Shift + right‑click in empty space and choose “Open PowerShell window here” (or “Open in Terminal”).

2. If you want to type folder names manually:

   powershell
   
   "ClientA","ClientB","ClientC" | %{ New-Item -Name "$_" -ItemType "Directory" }
   

This creates one folder for each name in the quotes.

3. If you have a text file with folder names (one name per line), say names.txt:

   powershell
   
   Get-Content .\names.txt | %{ New-Item -Name "$_" -ItemType "Directory" }
   

PowerShell shines when you’ve copied names from Excel, a CSV, or another list.

3. Windows: Batch file + Excel (hundreds of folders)

If you need a lot of folders (months, countries, students, etc.), a small batch file is efficient.

Step A – Prepare names in Excel

• Put all desired folder names in column A, one per row (e.g., Jan, Feb, Mar …).

• In column B, generate md commands with a formula like:

  text
  
  ="MD " & """" & A1 & """"
  

Copy this down the column so every row becomes a complete MD line.

Now column B will look like:

cmd

MD "Jan"
MD "Feb"
MD "Mar"

Step B – Create the batch file

1. Copy the entire command column.
2. Paste into Notepad.

3. Save as something like CreateFolders.bat.
   • In the “Save as type” dropdown, choose “All Files”.
   • Make sure the filename ends with .bat.

4. Save it in the folder where you want to create all the folders.
5. Double‑click the .bat file – all folders are created instantly.

This method avoids typing complex commands by hand and works well with long lists from other systems.

4. Linux / macOS: Terminal tricks

On Linux or macOS, the idea is similar, but you use mkdir in Terminal.

Basic multiple folders

bash

mkdir FolderA FolderB FolderC

This creates three folders in the current directory, one for each name.

With a list in a text file

If you have a file names.txt with one folder name per line:

bash

while read name; do mkdir "$name"; done < names.txt

This will create one folder for every line in that file, preserving spaces in names.

5. Mini tips, ideas, and “gotchas”

• Use quotes for names with spaces, e.g., md "Invoices 2026" "Invoices 2027".

• Test with 2–3 folders first to ensure you’re in the correct directory.

• For nested structures, you can create a path like:

  bash
  
  mkdir -p "Clients/ClientA/Invoices"
  

on macOS/Linux, or:

    cmd
    
    md Clients\ClientA\Invoices

on Windows.

A practical example: a teacher organizing student submissions can paste all student names into Excel, generate MD commands, save as a batch file, and instantly get one folder per student instead of manually creating dozens of folders.

TL;DR:

• Quick manual set: use md (Windows) or mkdir (Linux/macOS) with several names.

• Large lists: generate MD lines from Excel or a text file and run them via batch file (Windows) or a simple loop in Terminal (Linux/macOS).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.