md5sum

Additional Notes

md5sum is a security command used to compute or verify MD5 checksums. It is commonly used to verify file integrity after downloads or transfers.

MD5 is cryptographically broken and unsuitable for security-sensitive verification. Use sha256sum or sha512sum where collision resistance is important.

Syntax

md5sum [options] [arguments]

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how md5sum behaves.
• target: File, user, service, policy, or security object to inspect or modify.
• value: Security setting, context, key, hash, or policy value.

Common Options

• -c: Check hashes from a checksum file.
• --quiet: Only print failures when checking.
• --status: Use only the exit status when checking.

Examples

md5sum file.txt
md5sum *.zip > MD5SUMS
md5sum -c MD5SUMS

Practical Notes

MD5 is not suitable for security-sensitive integrity checks. Prefer sha256sum when possible.