So I have a problem. I have WAY too many hard drives and backups from decades of computing. I just hoard everything. The issue is now I don’t know what I have duplicates of and what I don’t. or when I want to format an old external drive for something else, I’m not sure if I actually have a backup of it.

I just want a way to basically compare folders and see what files are missing or what are duplicates. I’m fine with CLI but I may prefer a GUI for this so I’m not deleting files by accident as easily…

I have searched around for this question but all the solutions seem way too complex for me.

  • sainthEnglish
    4·
    8 days ago

    I’m only familiar with CLI tools but at least for smaller directories diff works well. Say you have a backup directory and you want to see how it differs from a source directory:

    diff -rq /source/directory /backup/directory

    Another trick is to use find to look for a unique file to see where, if at all, it’s backed up:

    find /backup/directory -name unique-file-name.jpg

    • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      3·
      7 days ago

      I could start with this !

      I love CLI where I understand it I just am not as trusting when dealing witharge amounts of files. Of myself.