ntfscmp

ntfscmp [options] path1 path2

path1
    The first NTFS path to compare (file or directory).

path2
    The second NTFS path to compare (file or directory).

-v, --verbose
    Enable verbose output. Prints more detailed information about the comparison process.

-r, --recursive
    Recursively compare directories. Without this option, only the top-level directory is compared.

-n, --no-attributes
    Ignore NTFS attributes while comparison.

-i, --ignore-case
    Ignore case differences.

ntfscmp is a command-line utility designed to compare files and directories on NTFS (New Technology File System) volumes. It meticulously examines not just the data content but also the NTFS-specific metadata, attributes, and timestamps, offering a more in-depth comparison than standard Linux file comparison tools like diff or cmp. This makes it valuable for ensuring data integrity when copying or migrating data between NTFS file systems or for verifying backups of NTFS partitions. The tool reports discrepancies it finds, enabling users to identify and resolve issues. It's often used in forensic analysis to detect subtle changes made to files within an NTFS volume. Note that ntfscmp relies on the ntfs-3g library for accessing NTFS file systems.

ntfscmp requires read access to the NTFS file systems being compared. Write access is never required. Also, performance might degrade significantly for large directories or file systems with numerous small files.

ntfscmp returns 0 if the paths are identical. It returns 1 if the paths are different, and a value greater than 1 if an error occurred.

By default, ntfscmp will output the attributes, timestamps, and any data that are different between the two files. If you would like to see only the differences in the data, you can use the -n option.

ntfscmp is part of the ntfs-3g tools package, which has been under development for many years. Its primary purpose is to facilitate reliable access to and manipulation of NTFS file systems from Linux and other operating systems. Initially, the focus was on providing reliable read and write support for NTFS. As the ntfs-3g project matured, tools like ntfscmp were added to provide enhanced functionality, specifically for validating data integrity. The development has been driven by the needs of users who require reliable and accurate access to NTFS volumes, particularly in dual-boot environments and when dealing with data from Windows systems.

diff(1), cmp(1), ntfs-3g(8)