sha384sum(1) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
sha384sum is not in the Solnix base system: install pkgs.solnix.coreutils to get the GNU coreutils 9.7 version. Its options match Linux sha384sum. FreeBSD's sha384sum is a name for a combined digest page, and it behaves like the GNU tool only because its name ends in "sum".
The manual pages
- Solnix: sha384sum(1) from
pkgs.solnix.coreutils - Linux: sha384sum(1) coreutils-full-9.11
- FreeBSD: sha384sum(1) 15.1-RELEASE
What Solnix runs
Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.coreutils. The bundle lists no other illumos variants and includes no illumos text for this command. The published Solnix page is the GNU coreutils 9.7 page (April 2025).
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | same program family | Solnix and Linux document the same GNU sha384sum. The synopsis and option set are identical: -b, -c, -t, -w, -z, --tag, --ignore-missing, --quiet, --status, --strict. Only the page wording differs.Source: Solnix sha384sum(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; Linux sha384sum(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION |
| Linux | relation to cksum | The Linux page calls sha384sum a "Legacy interface to the cksum utility". The Solnix page does not say this and only lists cksum(1) under SEE ALSO. The coreutils versions differ: the Solnix page is 9.7, the Linux page is 9.11. Source: Linux sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION; Solnix sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION, SEE ALSO, footer |
| FreeBSD | mode depends on program name | On FreeBSD, sha384sum gives GNU-style options and output only because the name ends in "sum". Invoked as sha384, it uses BSD mode with different options. Solnix documents only the GNU form. Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION, BSD OPTIONS, GNU OPTIONS; Solnix sha384sum(1) SYNOPSIS |
| FreeBSD | -c and -t in BSD mode | FreeBSD's sha384 (BSD mode) takes -c string, which compares the file's digest against that string, and -t, which runs a time trial. Solnix and FreeBSD sha384sum use -c to check a list of digests and -t for text mode. Do not mix the names.Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) BSD OPTIONS -c, -t; GNU OPTIONS -c, -t; Solnix sha384sum(1) -c, -t |
| FreeBSD | checking BSD-format lines | FreeBSD -c says the digest file may use either classical BSD format or GNU coreutils format. It writes "name: OK" or "name: FAILED" per line and prints failure and skipped-line counts at the end. Solnix says only that the input should be a former output of this program.Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -c; Solnix sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION (-c and closing paragraph) |
| FreeBSD | file name escaping and -z | FreeBSD encodes file names with unprintable characters using vis(3) VIS_CSTYLE | VIS_OCTAL in all modes. Its -z only ends lines with NUL. Solnix -z also disables file name escaping. The Solnix page does not describe the escaping format.Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION, GNU OPTIONS -z; Solnix sha384sum(1) -z |
| FreeBSD | --quiet wording | With --quiet, FreeBSD prints nothing unless verification fails. Solnix describes it as not printing OK for each verified file. The Solnix page does not mention other output, such as failures or the summary line.Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) GNU OPTIONS --quiet; Solnix sha384sum(1) --quiet |
| FreeBSD | extra tools on the same page | FreeBSD's page also covers shasum, which takes Perl-style options including -a alg and defaults to SHA-1. It also covers BSD-mode options -p, -r, -s and -x. The Solnix page documents none of these.Source: FreeBSD sha384sum(1) PERL OPTIONS -a, BSD OPTIONS -p, -r, -s, -x; Solnix sha384sum(1) SYNOPSIS |
| Linux, FreeBSD | binary vs text mode | Solnix says there is no difference between binary and text mode on GNU systems, and FreeBSD says its implementation does not differentiate them. The mode only changes the '*' or ' ' marker in the output line. The Linux page does not state this. Source: Solnix sha384sum(1) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD sha384sum(1) GNU OPTIONS -t; Linux sha384sum(1) -b, -t |
Standards
- POSIX: sha384sum is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
- Solnix: The sums are computed as described in FIPS-180-2.
Writing portable scripts
- Do not assume sha384sum exists on a Solnix host: it is only present after installing pkgs.solnix.coreutils. Test with command
-vbefore use. - Stick to the options all three pages share:
-b,-c,-t,-w,-z,--tag,--quiet,--status,--strict,--ignore-missing. Check the exit status instead of parsing output when verifying.
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.