The request
Find duplicate files with safe command-line scanner
Read the full request
Build a dependency-free Node.js command-line tool that recursively scans one user-supplied directory and reports groups of byte-identical regular files. It must never delete, rename, or write to scanned files. Skip symbolic links and .git directories, handle empty files, compare candidate files by size then streaming SHA-256 and finally bytewise confirmation so each reported group truly contains identical bytes. Produce deterministic JSON on stdout with sorted paths and groups, including duplicate byte savings. Give clear usage/help and nonzero exit for invalid or unreadable root. Continue scanning on individual unreadable entries with warnings on stderr. Add a small fixture or example and Node built-in tests using temporary directories for identical content, equal size but different content, empty files, symlinks, deterministic ordering, and error behavior. Include README with exact commands and safety notes.
The journey
- Read the requestTurned it into a list of things it would have to prove before calling the work done.
- Did the workPlanned the pieces, built them and checked the result as it went.
- Sent back by the final reviewThe last check did not accept the first result, and said what was missing.
- CorrectedThe missing parts were fixed and the work was checked again.
- Delivered7 files handed over.
The result
- examples/sample/a.txt12 B
- examples/sample/copy.txt12 B
- examples/sample/different.txt16 B
- index.js4.6 KB
- package.json254 B
- README.md1.6 KB
- test/scanner.test.js2.9 KB