FDUPES(1)

NAME
fdupes - finds duplicate files in a given set of directories

SYNOPSIS
fdupes [ options ] DIRECTORY ...

DESCRIPTION
Searches the given path for duplicate files. Such files are found by comparing file sizes and MD5 signatures, followed by a byte-by-byte comparison.

OPTIONS

-r --recurse
    for every directory given follow subdirectories encountered within

-R --recurse:
    for each directory given after this option follow subdirectories encountered within (note the ':' at the end of option; see the Examples section below for further explanation)

-s --symlinks
    follow symlinked directories

-H --hardlinks
    normally, when two or more files point to the same disk area they are treated as non-duplicates; this option will change this behavior

-G --minsize=SIZE
    consider only files greater than or equal to SIZE in bytes

-L --maxsize==SIZE
    consider only files less than or equal to SIZE in bytes

-n --noempty
    exclude zero-length files from consideration

-A --nohidden
    exclude hidden files from consideration

-f --omitfirst
    omit the first file in each set of matches

-1 --sameline
    list each set of matches on a single line

-S --size
    show size of duplicate files

-t --time
    show modification time of duplicate files

-m --summarize
    summarize duplicate file information

-q --quiet
    hide progress indicator

-d --delete
    prompt user for files to preserve, deleting all others (see CAVEATS below)

-D --deferconfirmation
    in interactive mode, defer byte-for-byte confirmation of duplicates until just before file deletion

-P --plain
    with --delete, use line-based prompt (as with older versions of fdupes) instead of screen-mode interface

-N --noprompt
    when used together with --delete, preserve the first file in each set of duplicates and delete the others without prompting the user

-I --immediate
    delete duplicates as they are encountered, without grouping into sets; implies --noprompt

-p --permissions
    don't consider files with different owner/group or permission bits as duplicates

-o --order=WORD
    order files according to WORD: time - sort by modification time, ctime - sort by status change time, name - sort by filename

-i --reverse
    reverse order while sorting

-l --log=LOGFILE
    log file deletion choices to LOGFILE

-v --version
    display fdupes version

-h --help
    displays help

NOTES
Unless -1 or --sameline is specified, duplicate files are listed together in groups, each file displayed on a separate line. The groups are then separated from each other by blank lines. When -1 or --sameline is specified, spaces and backslash characters (\) appearing in a filename are preceded by a backslash character.

EXAMPLES

fdupes a --recurse: b
    will follow subdirectories under b, but not those under a.

fdupes a --recurse b
    will follow subdirectories under both a and b.

CAVEATS
When using -d or --delete, care should be taken to insure against accidental data loss. When used together with options -s or --symlink, a user could accidentally preserve a symlink while deleting the file it points to. Furthermore, when specifying a particular directory more than once, all files within that directory will be listed as their own duplicates, leading to data loss should a user preserve a file without its "duplicate" (the file itself!).

AUTHOR
Adrian Lopez <adrian2@caribe.net>