1FDUPES(1) General Commands Manual FDUPES(1)
2
6 fdupes - finds duplicate files in a given set of directories
7
9 fdupes [ options ] DIRECTORY ...
10
13 Searches the given path for duplicate files. Such files are found by
14 comparing file sizes and MD5 signatures, followed by a byte-by-byte
15 comparison.
16
19 -r --recurse
20 for every directory given follow subdirectories encountered
21 within
22 -R --recurse:
24 for each directory given after this option follow subdirectories
25 encountered within (note the ':' at the end of option; see the
26 Examples section below for further explanation)
27 -s --symlinks
29 follow symlinked directories
30 -H --hardlinks
32 normally, when two or more files point to the same disk area
33 they are treated as non-duplicates; this option will change this
34 behavior
35 -n --noempty
37 exclude zero-length files from consideration
38 -f --omitfirst
40 omit the first file in each set of matches
41 -A --nohidden
43 exclude hidden files from consideration
44 -1 --sameline
46 list each set of matches on a single line
47 -S --size
49 show size of duplicate files
50 -m --summarize
52 summarize duplicate files information
53 -q --quiet
55 hide progress indicator
56 -d --delete
58 prompt user for files to preserve, deleting all others (see
59 CAVEATS below)
60 -N --noprompt
62 when used together with --delete, preserve the first file in
63 each set of duplicates and delete the others without prompting
64 the user
65 -I --immediate
67 delete duplicates as they are encountered, without grouping into
68 sets; implies --noprompt
69 -p --permissions
71 don't consider files with different owner/group or permission
72 bits as duplicates
73 -o --order=WORD
75 order files according to WORD: time - sort by modification time,
76 ctime - sort by status change time, name - sort by filename
77 -i --reverse
79 reverse order while sorting
80 -v --version
82 display fdupes version
83 -h --help
85 displays help
86
88 md5sum(1)
89
91 Unless -1 or --sameline is specified, duplicate files are listed
92 together in groups, each file displayed on a separate line. The groups
93 are then separated from each other by blank lines.
94 When -1 or --sameline is specified, spaces and backslash characters
96 (\) appearing in a filename are preceded by a backslash character.
97
100 fdupes a --recurse: b
101 will follow subdirectories under b, but not those under a.
102 fdupes a --recurse b
104 will follow subdirectories under both a and b.
105
108 If fdupes returns with an error message such as fdupes: error invoking
109 md5sum it means the program has been compiled to use an external pro‐
110 gram to calculate MD5 signatures (otherwise, fdupes uses internal rou‐
111 tines for this purpose), and an error has occurred while attempting to
112 execute it. If this is the case, the specified program should be prop‐
113 erly installed prior to running fdupes.
114 When using -d or --delete, care should be taken to insure against acci‐
116 dental data loss.
117 When used together with options -s or --symlink, a user could acciden‐
119 tally preserve a symlink while deleting the file it points to.
120 Furthermore, when specifying a particular directory more than once, all
122 files within that directory will be listed as their own duplicates,
123 leading to data loss should a user preserve a file without its "dupli‐
124 cate" (the file itself!).
125
128 Adrian Lopez <adrian2@caribe.net>
129 FDUPES(1)