cmp

Compare two files byte by byte

low risk

interactive breakdown — edit the command and press Explain
$ 
What it does

Reports the first byte where two files differ — fast for binary files.

Common flags
FlagMeaning
-sSilent; only the exit status
-lList all differing bytes
Examples
cmp a.bin b.binFirst difference · explain & risk-check →
Related
diff sha256sum
Open the full explainer →More in Files & Archives

Reference text is hand-written and may be incomplete — check man cmp for your version. Test destructive commands on a non-production system first.