CKSUM(1) User Commands CKSUM(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

cksum - compute and verify file checksums

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

**cksum** \[*OPTION*]... \[*FILE*]...

# [DESCRIPTION](#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**](#a,)

select the digest type to use. See DIGEST below

[**--base64**](#base64)

emit base64-encoded digests, not hexadecimal

[**-c, --check**](#c,)

read checksums from the FILEs and check them

[**-l, --length=BITS**](#l,)

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**](#raw)

emit a raw binary digest, not hexadecimal

[**--tag**](#tag)

create a BSD-style checksum (the default)

[**--untagged**](#untagged)

create a reversed style checksum, without digest type

[**-z, --zero**](#z,)

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

## [The following five options are useful only when verifying checksums:](#The_following_five_options_are_useful_only_when_verifying_checksums:)

[**--ignore-missing**](#ignore)

don't fail or report status for missing files

[**--quiet**](#quiet)

don't print OK for each successfully verified file

[**--status**](#status)

don't output anything, status code shows success

[**--strict**](#strict)

exit non-zero for improperly formatted checksum lines

[**-w, --warn**](#w,)

warn about improperly formatted checksum lines

[**--debug**](#debug)

indicate which implementation used

[**--help**](#help)

display this help and exit

[**--version**](#version)

output version information and exit

## [DIGEST determines the digest algorithm and default output format:](#DIGEST_determines_the_digest_algorithm_and_default_output_format:)

[sysv](#sysv)

(equivalent to sum **-s**)

[bsd](#bsd)

(equivalent to sum **-r**)

[crc](#crc)

(equivalent to cksum)

[crc32b](#crc32b)

(only available through cksum)

[md5](#md5)

(equivalent to md5sum)

[sha1](#sha1)

(equivalent to sha1sum)

[sha2](#sha2)

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

[sha3](#sha3)

(only available through cksum)

[blake2b](#blake2b)

(equivalent to b2sum)

[sm3](#sm3)

(only available through cksum)

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

# [AUTHOR](#AUTHOR)

Written by Padraig Brady and Q. Frank Xia.

# [REPORTING BUGS](#REPORTING_BUGS)

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

# [COPYRIGHT](#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](#SEE_ALSO)

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

October 2026 GNU coreutils 9.12

---

Document: cksum(1) from coreutils 9.12-r6 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/coreutils.git