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Recursively Diff Packages

diffoscope is an open-source tool that recursively compares packages, archives, and directories to identify differences in their contents. It supports a wide range of file formats including Debian packages, RPM, ISO images, PDFs, and more, providing deep comparisons beyond simple file-level checks.

Background

diffoscope is a command-line tool that helps determine what actually changed between two files, packages, or directories by recursively unpacking and comparing their contents. It understands many common archive formats (tar, zip, deb, rpm, apk, ISO images, PDFs, and more), so it can dive into nested layers automatically. This matters most for "reproducible builds" — the effort to ensure that the same source code always produces bit-for-bit identical binaries. When a package rebuilds differently, diffoscope pinpoints exactly which bytes differ and why, making it essential for debugging build discrepancies and verifying software integrity.

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