FDUPES(1)						      General Commands Manual							 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 behav-
	      ior

       -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

       -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)