What is the PowerShell equivalent of 'touch'?

In Linux, the touch command is used to generate a new file. However, in PowerShell, this command does not work; so, alternatives are used.

The easiest way is to use:

＄null > filename

This generates a file in Unicode, so, the file will not be empty. To generate a file in ASCII use:

＄null | sc filename

Another way to create files and folders is to use New-Item:

ni filename

This creates a file or folder,​ depending on the extension given.

Sometimes it is also used to change the timestamps (i.e., dates and times of the most recent access and modification) on existing files and directories.