borg/docs/man/borg-diff.1

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.TH "BORG-DIFF" "1" "2025-10-31" "" "borg backup tool"
.SH NAME
borg-diff \- Diff contents of two archives
.SH SYNOPSIS
.sp
borg [common options] diff [options] REPO::ARCHIVE1 ARCHIVE2 [PATH...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
This command finds differences (file contents, user/group/mode) between archives.
.sp
A repository location and an archive name must be specified for REPO::ARCHIVE1.
ARCHIVE2 is just another archive name in the same repository (no repository location
allowed).
.SS What is compared
.sp
For each matching item in both archives, Borg reports:
.INDENT 0.0
.IP \(bu 2
Content changes: total added/removed bytes within files. If chunker parameters are comparable,
Borg compares chunk IDs quickly; otherwise, it compares the content.
.IP \(bu 2
Metadata changes: user, group, mode, and other metadata shown inline like
\(dq[old_mode \-> new_mode]\(dq for mode changes. Use \fB\-\-content\-only\fP to suppress metadata changes.
.IP \(bu 2
Added/removed items: printed as \(dqadded SIZE path\(dq or \(dqremoved SIZE path\(dq.
.UNINDENT
.SS Output formats
.sp
The default (text) output shows one line per changed path, e.g.:
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.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
+135 B    \-252 B [ \-rw\-r\-\-r\-\- \-> \-rwxr\-xr\-x ] path/to/file
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
JSON Lines output (\fB\-\-json\-lines\fP) prints one JSON object per changed path, e.g.:
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.INDENT 3.5
.sp
.EX
{\(dqpath\(dq: \(dqPATH\(dq, \(dqchanges\(dq: [
    {\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqmodified\(dq, \(dqadded\(dq: BYTES, \(dqremoved\(dq: BYTES},
    {\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqmode\(dq, \(dqold_mode\(dq: \(dq\-rw\-r\-\-r\-\-\(dq, \(dqnew_mode\(dq: \(dq\-rwxr\-xr\-x\(dq},
    {\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqadded\(dq, \(dqsize\(dq: SIZE},
    {\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqremoved\(dq, \(dqsize\(dq: SIZE}
]}
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.sp
Only actual changes are included in the \(dqchanges\(dq list. For example, a modified entry with
added=0 and removed=0 is omitted.
.SS Sorting
.sp
Use \fB\-\-sort\-by FIELDS\fP where FIELDS is a comma\-separated list of fields.
Sorts are applied stably from last to first in the given list. Prepend \(dq>\(dq for
descending, \(dq<\(dq (or no prefix) for ascending, for example \fB\-\-sort\-by=\(dq>size_added,path\(dq\fP\&.
Supported fields include:
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.IP \(bu 2
path: the item path
.IP \(bu 2
size_added: total bytes added for the item content
.IP \(bu 2
size_removed: total bytes removed for the item content
.IP \(bu 2
size_diff: size_added \- size_removed (net content change)
.IP \(bu 2
size: size of the item as stored in ARCHIVE2 (0 for removed items)
.IP \(bu 2
user, group, uid, gid, ctime, mtime: taken from the item state in ARCHIVE2 when present
.IP \(bu 2
ctime_diff, mtime_diff: timestamp difference (archive2 \- archive1)
.UNINDENT
.sp
The \fB\-\-sort\fP option is deprecated and only sorts by path.
.SS Performance considerations
.sp
For archives created with Borg 1.1 or newer, diff automatically detects whether
the archives were created with the same chunker parameters. If so, only chunk IDs
are compared, which is very fast.
.sp
For archives prior to Borg 1.1, chunk contents are compared by default.
If you did not create the archives with different chunker parameters,
pass \fB\-\-same\-chunker\-params\fP\&.
Note that the chunker parameters changed from Borg 0.xx to 1.0.
.sp
For more help on include/exclude patterns, see the \fIborg_patterns\fP command output.
.SH OPTIONS
.sp
See \fIborg\-common(1)\fP for common options of Borg commands.
.SS arguments
.INDENT 0.0
.TP
.B REPO::ARCHIVE1
repository location and ARCHIVE1 name
.TP
.B ARCHIVE2
ARCHIVE2 name (no repository location allowed)
.TP
.B PATH
paths of items inside the archives to compare; patterns are supported
.UNINDENT
.SS options
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.TP
.B  \-\-numeric\-owner
deprecated, use \fB\-\-numeric\-ids\fP instead
.TP
.B  \-\-numeric\-ids
only consider numeric user and group identifiers
.TP
.B  \-\-same\-chunker\-params
Override check of chunker parameters.
.TP
.B  \-\-sort
Sort the output by path (deprecated, use \-\-sort\-by=path).
.UNINDENT
.IP "System Message: WARNING/2 (docs/borg-diff.rst:, line 119)"
Option list ends without a blank line; unexpected unindent.
.sp
\-\-sort\-by FIELD[,FIELD...]      Advanced sorting: specify field(s) to sort by. Accepts a comma\-separated list. Prefix with > for descending or < for ascending (default).
\-\-content\-only                  Only compare differences in content (exclude metadata differences)
\-\-json\-lines                    Format output as JSON Lines.
.SS Include/Exclude options
.INDENT 0.0
.TP
.BI \-e \ PATTERN\fR,\fB \ \-\-exclude \ PATTERN
exclude paths matching PATTERN
.TP
.BI \-\-exclude\-from \ EXCLUDEFILE
read exclude patterns from EXCLUDEFILE, one per line
.TP
.BI \-\-pattern \ PATTERN
include/exclude paths matching PATTERN
.TP
.BI \-\-patterns\-from \ PATTERNFILE
read include/exclude patterns from PATTERNFILE, one per line
.UNINDENT
.SH EXAMPLES
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.INDENT 3.5
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.EX
$ borg init \-e=none testrepo
$ mkdir testdir
$ cd testdir
$ echo asdf > file1
$ dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1M count=4 > file2
$ touch file3
$ borg create ../testrepo::archive1 .

$ chmod a+x file1
$ echo \(dqsomething\(dq >> file2
$ borg create ../testrepo::archive2 .

$ echo \(dqtesting 123\(dq >> file1
$ rm file3
$ touch file4
$ borg create ../testrepo::archive3 .

$ cd ..
$ borg diff testrepo::archive1 archive2
[\-rw\-r\-\-r\-\- \-> \-rwxr\-xr\-x] file1
   +135 B    \-252 B file2

$ borg diff testrepo::archive2 archive3
    +17 B      \-5 B file1
added           0 B file4
removed         0 B file3

$ borg diff testrepo::archive1 archive3
    +17 B      \-5 B [\-rw\-r\-\-r\-\- \-> \-rwxr\-xr\-x] file1
   +135 B    \-252 B file2
added           0 B file4
removed         0 B file3

$ borg diff \-\-json\-lines testrepo::archive1 archive3
{\(dqpath\(dq: \(dqfile1\(dq, \(dqchanges\(dq: [{\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqmodified\(dq, \(dqadded\(dq: 17, \(dqremoved\(dq: 5}, {\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqmode\(dq, \(dqold_mode\(dq: \(dq\-rw\-r\-\-r\-\-\(dq, \(dqnew_mode\(dq: \(dq\-rwxr\-xr\-x\(dq}]}
{\(dqpath\(dq: \(dqfile2\(dq, \(dqchanges\(dq: [{\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqmodified\(dq, \(dqadded\(dq: 135, \(dqremoved\(dq: 252}]}
{\(dqpath\(dq: \(dqfile4\(dq, \(dqchanges\(dq: [{\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqadded\(dq, \(dqsize\(dq: 0}]}
{\(dqpath\(dq: \(dqfile3\(dq, \(dqchanges\(dq: [{\(dqtype\(dq: \(dqremoved\(dq, \(dqsize\(dq: 0}]}

# Use \-\-sort\-by with a comma\-separated list; sorts apply stably from last to first.
# Here: primary by net size change descending, tie\-breaker by path ascending
$ borg diff \-\-sort\-by=\(dq>size_diff,path\(dq testrepo::archive1 archive3
    +17 B      \-5 B [\-rw\-r\-\-r\-\- \-> \-rwxr\-xr\-x] file1
removed         0 B file3
added           0 B file4
   +135 B    \-252 B file2
.EE
.UNINDENT
.UNINDENT
.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
\fIborg\-common(1)\fP
.SH AUTHOR
The Borg Collective
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