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linuxmd5tarfile-attributes

tar archive without metadata

Simple example:

tar cf <archive_name> <file_name>
md5sum <archive_name>
touch <file_name>
tar cf <archive_name> <file_name>
md5sum <archive_name>

Results of md5sum are different.

How to avoid this?

Solution

  • Only different modify times (not access or change) cause this issue. As workaround: use --mtime to override file modify times with one predefined timestamp.