Quickly produce and check MD5 checksums on the command line to verify file integrity. 16.11.2025 | reading time: 2 min On Linux, `md5sum` is the go-to tool to produce an MD5 digest for a file and to verify integrity; below you will see concrete commands and their outputs so he can reproduce the checks locally. Hands-on example Run these commands to see MD5 checksums in action: ```printf 'abc' > example.txt md5sum example.txt 900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72 example.txt md5sum example.txt > example.md5 cat example.md5 900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72 example.txt md5sum -c example.md5 example.txt: OK printf 'abx' > example.txt md5sum -c example.md5 example.txt: FAILED md5sum: WARNING: 1 computed checksum did NOT match``` Options and gotchas Use `-c` to check a checksum file, `-b` for binary mode and `--status` to suppress output in scripts; check the exit code to detect mismatches in automation, and remember that `md5sum` streams data so it handles large files without loading them into memory, but MD5 is cryptographically broken so do not rely on it for security-sensitive verification. When MD5 is not enough On macOS the `md5` command and `openssl md5` are available, and for stronger hashing use `sha256sum` or `openssl dgst -sha256`; tools such as `md5deep` provide recursive hashing for directories and are handy for bulk verification. Where to go next Start using checksum files for downloads and backups to catch corruption, then learn stronger hashing and verification techniques; to deepen Linux skills and prepare for certification consider study paths like CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 and intensive exam preparation at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. utilities security backup scripting
