spot(1)
Spot is a command-line tool for finding and analyzing duplicated content across files and directories.
Synopsis
spot [OPTION]... [FILE|DIRECTORY]...Description
Spot identifies duplicate files and content blocks within your filesystem. It uses content hashing to find exact duplicates regardless of filename, and can report on wasted space from redundant data.
By default, spot scans files and groups identical content together, helping identify storage waste and organizational issues. It supports filtering by file size, type, and custom hash algorithms.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-r, --recursive | Recursively scan directories and subdirectories |
-s, --min-size SIZE | Only consider files larger than SIZE bytes |
-d, --duplicates | Show only files that have duplicates |
-H, --hash ALGORITHM | Use specified hash algorithm (md5, sha1, sha256) |
-q, --quiet | Suppress non-essential output |
-v, --verbose | Print detailed information during scanning |
-f, --format FORMAT | Output format: json, csv, or text |
--ignore-hidden | Skip hidden files and directories |
Examples
Find all duplicate files recursively in the documents directory
spot -r /home/user/documentsFind duplicate files larger than 1MB in the home directory
spot -r -s 1048576 /homeExport duplicate files in JSON format to a file
spot -d -f json /var/log > duplicates.jsonScan for duplicates while ignoring hidden files and directories
spot -r --ignore-hidden /home/userScan multiple directories with verbose output to see scanning progress
spot -v /tmp /home/user/downloads