CKSUM(1)

NAME
cksum - compute and verify file checksums

SYNOPSIS
cksum [OPTION]... [FILE]...

DESCRIPTION

Print or verify checksums. By default use the 32 bit CRC algorithm.

With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-a, --algorithm=TYPE
    select the digest type to use. See DIGEST below

--base64
    emit base64-encoded digests, not hexadecimal

-c, --check
    read checksums from the FILEs and check them

-l, --length=BITS
    digest length in bits; must not exceed the max size and must be a multiple of 8 for blake2b; must be 224, 256, 384, or 512 for sha2 or sha3

--raw
    emit a raw binary digest, not hexadecimal

--tag
    create a BSD-style checksum (the default)

--untagged
    create a reversed style checksum, without digest type

-z, --zero
    end each output line with NUL, not newline, and disable file name escaping

  The following five options are useful only when verifying checksums:

--ignore-missing
    don't fail or 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 lines

-w, --warn
    warn about improperly formatted checksum lines

--debug
    indicate which implementation used

--help
    display this help and exit

--version
    output version information and exit

  DIGEST determines the digest algorithm and default output format:

sysv
    (equivalent to sum -s)

bsd (equivalent to sum -r)

crc (equivalent to cksum)

crc32b
    (only available through cksum)

md5 (equivalent to md5sum)

sha1
    (equivalent to sha1sum)

sha2
    (equivalent to sha{224,256,384,512}sum)

sha3
    (only available through cksum)

blake2b
    (equivalent to b2sum)

sm3 (only available through cksum)

When checking, the input should be a former output of this program, or equivalent standalone program.

AUTHOR
Written by Padraig Brady and Q. Frank Xia.

REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to: bug-coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>

COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/cksum>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) cksum invocation'