install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install duff

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install duff

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/duff/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install duff

Debian stable package indexes · duff · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install duff

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · duff · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#duff

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/du/duff/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Quickly find duplicates in a set of files from the command-line

Project links

Commands and aliases

duff

history

Project history and usage

duff is an older Unix command-line duplicate-file finder that compares candidate files using SHA-family message digests. Its history is unusually well documented in its README, including its pre-release name, early private circulation, first official release, and later maintenance releases.

Project history

The tool began as version 0.1 under the name duplicate, then version 0.2 became the first release named duff but was only shared with a few people in early 2005. Version 0.3 became the first official release on November 22, 2005 after the author found a suitably licensed SHA1 implementation.

Version 0.4, released January 13, 2006, was described by the project as the first stable everyday-use release. The 0.5 line in 2011 and 2012 restarted development with minor features, bug fixes, optimizations, improved default thorough-mode output, and message-prefix cleanup.

Adoption history

duff became a portable Unix utility rather than a large ecosystem project. The README records successful builds across Linux distributions, BSDs, Darwin and Mac OS X, NetBSD, SunOS, Cygwin, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and package metadata shows it still exists in Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, and Ubuntu.

How it is used

The common use is scanning one or more paths for duplicate files, with duff grouping duplicate candidates after digest-based comparison. The project ships a traditional man page and autotools build, matching the packaging style of mid-2000s Unix command-line utilities.

Why package nerds care

duff is interesting as a compact, old-school duplicate finder that survived through distro packaging. It belongs to the era before newer Rust and Go disk tools, when small C utilities with man pages, autotools, and portable Unix build notes were the normal package-manager substrate.

Timeline

2005: Version 0.2, the first named duff release, circulated privately.
2005: Version 0.3 became the first official release on November 22.
2006: Version 0.4 was considered stable enough for everyday use.
2011: Version 0.5 restarted development with minor features and fixes.
2012: Version 0.5.2 added optimizations and default behavior changes.

Related projects

fdupes and rdfind are adjacent duplicate-file finders in Unix package collections.
Modern disk-maintenance tools overlap with duff's cleanup use case, but duff's identity remains the narrow duplicate-file finder.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`duff`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.5.2

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/elmindreda/duff

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/elmindreda/duffnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:duff
Version	0.5.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/duff
Homepage	https://github.com/elmindreda/duff
Repository	https://github.com/elmindreda/duff
Upstream docs	https://github.com/elmindreda/duff#readme
License	Zlib
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/duff/duff/0.5.2/duff-0.5.2.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	duff
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

duff 0.5.2-2

Duplicate file finder

https://github.com/elmindreda/duff

sudo apt install duff

Section: utils
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Duff

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: duff from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

duff

nix profile install nixpkgs#duff

normalized package name match
Matched by: Duff

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/du/duff/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

duff 0.5.2-1.1build1

Duplicate file finder

http://duff.sourceforge.net/

sudo apt install duff

Section: universe/utils
Architecture: amd64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Duff

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: duff from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

dnf95%

duff 0.5.2-32.fc44

Quickly find duplicate files

http://duff.sourceforge.net/

sudo dnf install duff

License: zlib
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: duff
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Duff

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: duff from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

duff

sudo port install duff

normalized package name match
Matched by: Duff

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/duff/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/duff.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install duff with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix