comparing the content of two directories

xyzt · #1 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008

Hello

I want to compare the content of two directories recursively to check if the two directories have the same files. How can I do that?

jim mcnamara · #2 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008

IF you mean just filenames, not file contents - one way:

Code:

ls dir1 > ./dir1.txt
ls dir2 > ./dir2.txt
diff dir1.txt dir2 txt

If you mean file contents:

Code:

diff dir1 dir2

[/code]

cbkihong · #3 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008

If you are not trying to put it into a program, and that using some sort of GUI is acceptable, I found diff frontends such as kdiff3, kompare and meld helpful because they will highlight what the differences are using a lot of visual aids such as colours to make diffs a lot more pleasurable to read.

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