Run diff command to compare all files in directory

Question

I have two folders having in theory an identical folder structure and the same files.

I wish to check for differences between the two copies in the two folders. I can run diff folder1/file1 folder2/file1 one by one but this is time consuming.

Is there a way to identify which are the files which differ in the two folders? If not is there at least a way to compare the contents of a folder with the contents of the second folder?

gertvdijk · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-28T13:35:49.693

16

You've missed the -r (recursive) option to diff:

diff -r folder1 folder2

For a concise output also add the -q flag; it will only output that the files differ, but doesn't output the actual differences. See the manpage (man 1 diff) for more information and options.

edited Jan 28 '13 at 13:35

answered Jan 28 '13 at 13:28

gertvdijk

69,427

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 28 '13 at 14:30

7

If you have a lot of files and subfolders, you'll probably want to use meld (apt-get install meld), which is a visual diff and merge tool.

answered Jan 28 '13 at 14:30

boutch55555

1,226

Run diff command to compare all files in directory

2 Answers2