Tuesday 26 March 2019

md5sum Command in Linux with Examples

The md5sum is designed to verify data integrity using MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5).

md5sum Command, Linux Certifications, Linux Learning, Linux Tutorial and Material

MD5 is 128-bit cryptographic hash and if used properly it can be used to verify file authenticity and integrity.

Example :


Input : md5sum /home/xyz/test/test.cpp
Output : c6779ec2960296ed9a04f08d67f64422  /home/xyz/test/test.cpp

Importance :

Suppose, anyone wants to install an operating system , so to verify if it’s correct CD, it’s always a good idea to verify .iso file using MD5 checksum, so that you don’t end up installing wrong software (some sort of virus which can corrupt your filesystem).

Syntax :


md5sum [OPTION]... [FILE]...

It will print or check MD5(128-bit) checksum.

It computes MD5 checksum for file “test.cpp”

Output :

c6779ec2960296ed9a04f08d67f64422  /home/xyz/test/test.cpp

Options :

-b : read in binary mode
-c : read MD5 from files and check them
–tag : create a BSD-style checksum
-t : read in text mode(it’s by default)

The options which are useful when verifying checksum :


–ignore-missing : don’t report status for missing files
–quiet : don’t print OK for each successfully verified file
–status : don’t output anything, status code shows success
–strict : exit non-zero for improperly formatted checksum files
-w : warn about improperly formatted checksum files

Command usage examples with options :

Example 1: Store the MD5 checksum in file and then verify it.

# md5sum /home/xyz/test/test.cpp > checkmd5.md5

It will store the MD5 checksum for test.cpp in file checkmd5.md5

# md5sum -c checkmd5.md5

It will verify the contents of file

Output :

/home/xyz/test/test.cpp: OK

After changing the contents of file checkmd5.md5, the output will be :

/home/xyz/test/test.cpp: FAILED
md5sum: WARNING: 1 computed checksum did NOT match

Example 2: create a BSD-style checksum with –tag option

# md5sum --tag /home/xyz/test/test.cpp

Output :

MD5 (/home/xyz/test/test.cpp) = c6779ec2960296ed9a04f08d67f64422

Example 3: – quiet option, can be used when verifying checksum, don’t print OK when verification is successful.

#  md5sum -c --quiet  checkmd5.md5

Don’t produce any output, means it’s successful.

But if checksum don’t match, it produces warning.

# md5sum -c --quiet  checkmd5.md5
/home/xyz/test/test.cpp: FAILED
md5sum: WARNING: 1 computed checksum did NOT match

Example 4: – warn option, it can be used for generating a warning for improperly formatted checksum files.

content of file checkmd5.md5:

c6779ec2960296ed9a04f08d67f64422 /home/xyz/test/test.cpp

Now, execute command with –warn option

# md5sum -c --warn  checkmd5.md5
/home/xyz/test/test.cpp: OK

It don’t produce any warning.

Now, do some formatting in file checkmd5.md5

c6779ec2960296ed9a04f08d67f64422
/home/xyz/test/test.cpp

Now, execute the command

# md5sum -c --warn  checkmd5.md5

Output :

md5sum: checkmd5.md5: 1: improperly formatted MD5 checksum line
md5sum: checkmd5.md5: 2: improperly formatted MD5 checksum line
md5sum: checkmd5.md5: no properly formatted MD5 checksum lines found

and if –warn is replaced with –strict option, it will exit non-zero for improperly formatted checksum lines

# md5sum -c --strict  checkmd5.md5
md5sum: checkmd5.md5: no properly formatted MD5 checksum lines found

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