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

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

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

       -A --nohidden
              exclude hidden files from consideration

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

       -S --size
              show size of duplicate files

       -m --summarize
              summarize duplicate files information

       -q --quiet
              hide progress indicator

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

       -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 mtime, name - sort by filename

       -i --reverse
              reverse order while sorting

       -v --version
              display fdupes version

       -h --help
              displays help

SEE ALSO

       md5sum(1)

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

       If  fdupes  returns  with an error message such as fdupes: error invoking md5sum it means the program has
       been compiled to use an external program to calculate MD5 signatures  (otherwise,  fdupes  uses  internal
       routines  for  this  purpose),  and  an error has occurred while attempting to execute it. If this is the
       case, the specified program should be properly installed prior to running fdupes.

       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>

                                                                                                       FDUPES(1)