md5sum(1) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
md5sum on Solnix is the GNU coreutils program, and it is not in the base system: install pkgs.solnix.coreutils. Its options match Linux md5sum. On FreeBSD, md5sum is another name for a shared binary whose behaviour depends on the name it is run as, and plain md5 uses different options.
The manual pages
What Solnix runs
Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.coreutils. The bundle lists no other illumos variants and has no illumos text for md5sum, so no comparison with a base-system md5sum is made. The published Solnix page is from GNU coreutils 9.7. The bundle has no OpenBSD or NetBSD counterpart pages.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | same program family | Solnix and Linux both document GNU coreutils md5sum with an identical option set: -b, -c, -t, -w, -z, --tag, --ignore-missing, --quiet, --status, --strict, --warn. Scripts using these options behave the same way on both, as far as the pages show.Source: Solnix md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION; Linux md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION |
| Linux | documentation version and cksum | The Linux page (coreutils 9.11) calls md5sum a "Legacy interface to the cksum utility" and points to cksum(1) for SHA-2, SHA-3 or BLAKE2. The Solnix page (9.7) has no such sentence and names sha224sum, sha256sum, sha384sum, sha512sum and b2sum instead. Source: Linux md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION, BUGS; Solnix md5sum(1) BUGS |
| FreeBSD | behaviour depends on program name | FreeBSD md5sum is one of many names for the same utility. A name ending in "sum" gives GNU-style options and output; a name without it (md5) gives BSD mode. Solnix md5sum has only the GNU behaviour. Source: FreeBSD md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION, BSD OPTIONS, GNU OPTIONS; Solnix md5sum(1) SYNOPSIS |
| FreeBSD | -c meaning in md5 vs md5sum | Solnix md5sum -c reads checksum lines from the FILEs and checks them. FreeBSD md5sum behaves the same way, but FreeBSD md5 -c takes a string and compares the file's digest to it. Do not move md5 -c scripts to md5sum.Source: Solnix md5sum(1) -c; FreeBSD md5sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -c, BSD OPTIONS -c string |
| FreeBSD | -t meaning in md5 vs md5sum | Solnix md5sum -t selects text mode, the default. FreeBSD md5sum -t is the same, but FreeBSD md5 -t runs a built-in time trial. In the -sum versions, the time trial option is a no-op.Source: Solnix md5sum(1) -t; FreeBSD md5sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -t, BSD OPTIONS -t |
| FreeBSD | BSD-only options | FreeBSD md5 has -p, -q, -r, -s string and -x. These are not in the Solnix md5sum SYNOPSIS or OPTIONS. Use md5sum with a file or standard input on Solnix instead.Source: FreeBSD md5sum(1) SYNOPSIS, BSD OPTIONS; Solnix md5sum(1) SYNOPSIS |
| FreeBSD | checking BSD-format lines | FreeBSD -c accepts digest lines in either classical BSD or GNU coreutils format. The Solnix page says only that the input should be a former output of this program; it does not say whether BSD-style --tag lines are accepted on check.Source: FreeBSD md5sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -c; Solnix md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION, --tag |
| FreeBSD | -z and file name escaping | Solnix -z ends lines with NUL and also disables file name escaping. FreeBSD -z only terminates lines with NUL. FreeBSD says names with unprintable characters are encoded with vis(3) VIS_CSTYLE | VIS_OCTAL. The Solnix page describes escaping only under -z.Source: Solnix md5sum(1) -z; FreeBSD md5sum(1) -z, DESCRIPTION |
| FreeBSD | check output summary | FreeBSD -c prints name: OK or FAILED per line and, at the end, counts of failed and skipped lines. Solnix documents only that --quiet suppresses the OK lines. The Solnix page does not describe the trailing counts.Source: FreeBSD md5sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -c; Solnix md5sum(1) --quiet, --status |
| FreeBSD | --quiet wording | Solnix --quiet suppresses only the OK line for each verified file. FreeBSD --quiet, when verifying, prints nothing unless verification fails. The pages do not say whether the two differ in practice when failures occur.Source: Solnix md5sum(1) --quiet; FreeBSD md5sum(1) GNU OPTIONS --quiet |
| Linux, FreeBSD | binary and text mode | Solnix says there is no difference between binary and text mode on GNU systems; output marks the mode with '*' for binary or a space. FreeBSD also says its implementation does not differentiate the modes. The Linux page does not say. Source: Solnix md5sum(1) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD md5sum(1) -t; Linux md5sum(1) -b, -t |
Standards
- POSIX: md5sum is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- Solnix: The sums are computed as described in RFC 1321.
Writing portable scripts
- Call md5sum with only
-b,-c,-t,-zor--tagwhere it exists. Never call plain md5, which has different options on FreeBSD and may be absent elsewhere. - Do not rely on MD5 for security: all three pages advise against it. The Solnix page suggests SHA-2 tools or b2sum, and the FreeBSD page recommends SHA-512 or SKEIN-512.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.