How to compare binary files to check if they are the same?

Solution 1:

The standard unix diff will show if the files are the same or not:

[me@host ~]$ diff 1.bin 2.bin
Binary files 1.bin and 2.bin differ

If there is no output from the command, it means that the files have no differences.

Solution 2:

Use cmp command. This will either exit cleanly if they are binary equal, or it will print out where the first difference occurs and exit.

Solution 3:

I found Visual Binary Diff was what I was looking for, available on:

Ubuntu:
```
sudo apt install vbindiff
```
Arch Linux:
```
sudo pacman -S vbindiff
```
Mac OS X via MacPorts:
```
port install vbindiff
```
Mac OS X via Homebrew:
```
brew install vbindiff
```

Solution 4:

Use sha1 to generate checksum:

sha1 [FILENAME1]
sha1 [FILENAME2]

Solution 5:

I ended up using hexdump to convert the binary files to there hex representation and then opened them in meld / kompare / any other diff tool. Unlike you I was after the differences in the files.

hexdump tmp/Circle_24.png > tmp/hex1.txt
hexdump /tmp/Circle_24.png > tmp/hex2.txt

meld tmp/hex1.txt tmp/hex2.txt