hashcat creates empty output file at start

[newb]

My greetz to all!

I found that hashcat 3.20 creates empty output file at start, while the version 2.01 is not (file creates on success only)!
Potfile is disabled.

Is it normal or we have some bug here?

[atom]

That's wanted. It makes sure it has write-permission to the outfile. Imagine you're cracking a hash and hashcat can't write to outfile and errors out.