How does diff -r handle new files?

When using the diff -r command to compare two directories, it handles new files by reporting them as additions in the output. Specifically, if a file exists in one directory but not in the other, diff will indicate that the file is present in one directory and missing in the other.

Output for New Files:

• If a file is present in the first directory but not in the second, diff will output a message indicating that the file is only in the first directory.
• Conversely, if a file is present in the second directory but not in the first, it will indicate that the file is only in the second directory.

Example:

Assuming you have the following directories:

• dir1/ contains:

  • file1.txt
  • file2.txt

• dir2/ contains:

  • file2.txt
  • file3.txt

Running the command:

diff -r dir1/ dir2/

The output might look like this:

Only in dir1: file1.txt
Only in dir2: file3.txt

This output shows that file1.txt is new in dir1, and file3.txt is new in dir2.