Comparing directory contents

You can use the command:

diff -r dir1 dir2

to check whole directories for changes. With the -r option, diff compares the files in dir1 with the files in dir2 that have the same names.

This command can be useful if you have two directories that hold different versions of the same files and subdirectories.

You can use the -r option with other commands. For example:

cp -r dir1 dir2

copies all the files and subdirectories from dir1 to dir2.

rm -r dir

removes all the files and subdirectories under dir and then removes dir itself.