TIFFCMP(1)

📦
version 4.7.2 · 16 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 tiffcmp — the bestie manual page 💖

okay so bestie, you know tiffcmp? it's the LibTIFF girlie whose whole job is comparing two TIFF files. yes, this is the TIFFCMP(1) page, we're doing this together, grab a 🍓 and let's go.

✨ NAME ✨

tiffcmp — compare two TIFF files

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

tiffcmp [ options ] file1.tif file2.tif

like. two files. that's the whole vibe. 👑

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so tiffcmp compares the tags and the data in two files that were created according to the Tagged Image File Format, Revision 6.0. and listen — the compression schemes each file used are literally immaterial when the data get compared, because the data are compared on a scanline-by-scanline basis after decompression. so you can have one file zip-zipped and the other raw and she does not care, she just wants the pixels. 💅

most directory tags get checked. notable exceptions (the ones she's like "not my problem bestie" about) are: GrayResponseCurve, ColorResponseCurve, and ColorMap tags. 🫶

and here's the thing — data will not be compared if any of the BitsPerSample, SamplesPerPixel, or ImageWidth values are not equal. she's not gonna do the math on mismatched shapes, no cap.

by default, tiffcmp will terminate if it encounters any difference. like, first difference, she's out. 😭 periodt.

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -l — list each byte of image data that differs between the files. every single one. she's thorough like that. ✨
  • -z number — list the specified number of image data bytes that differs between the files. so you can be like "okay show me 5 and then chill." 🌸
  • -t — ignore any differences in directory tags. tags? don't know her. data only. 🙈

💀 BUGS 💀

okay so the receipts, bestie, because we keep it real:

  • tags that are not recognized by the library are not compared; they may also generate spurious diagnostics. so if she yells about something weird, that might be why. 😭
  • the image data of tiled files is not compared, since the TIFFReadScanline() function is used. an error will be reported for tiled files. not a vibe, but that's the situation. 💀
  • the pixel and/or sample number reported in differences may be off in some exotic cases. so like. the number's a little feral sometimes. iykyk. 🙈

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

pal2rgb (1), tiffinfo (1), tiffcp (1), tiffmedian (1), libtiff (3tiff)

go read those too, they're all in the same friend group 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

LibTIFF contributors — icons, honestly.

1988-2025, LibTIFF contributors

and that's the whole page bestie!! this was version 4.7, dated Jun 27, 2026, brought to you by the LibTIFF contributors. slay, go compare some files, ily 💖✨🦋🌸

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