MD5 File Signatures

The command md5 <file> generates a unique 32-digit hexadecimal number. This can serve as a signature for a file in its particular state, letting you know when it has changed.

Example usage:

$ touch test.txt
$ md5 test.txt
  MD5 (test.txt) = d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
$ echo 'some content' > test.txt
$ md5 test.txt
  MD5 (test.txt) = eb9c2bf0eb63f3a7bc0ea37ef18aeba5

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