--- name: "ldapcompare" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "openldap" version: "2.7.2-2" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux", "macos"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/ldapcompare" --- # ldapcompare(1) LDAP compare tool ## NAME ldapcompare - LDAP compare tool ## SYNOPSIS **ldapcompare** \[**-V**\[**V**\]\] \[**-d** *debuglevel\]* \[**-n**\] \[**-v**\] \[**-z**\] \[**-M**\[**M**\]\] \[**-x**\] \[**-D** *binddn\]* \[**-W**\] \[**-w** *passwd\]* \[**-y** *passwdfile\]* \[**-H** *ldapuri\]* \[**-P** {**2**\|**3**}\] \[**-e** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\]\] \[**-E** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\]\] \[**-o** *opt***\[=***optparam***\]\]** \[**-O** *security-properties\]* \[**-I**\] \[**-Q**\] \[**-N**\] \[**-U** *authcid\]* \[**-R** *realm\]* \[**-X** *authzid\]* \[**-Y** *mech\]* \[**-Z**\[**Z**\]\] *DN* {**attr:***value* \| **attr::***b64value}* ## DESCRIPTION *ldapcompare* is a shell-accessible interface to the [**ldap\_compare\_ext**(3)](/ldap_compare_ext/3.md) library call. **ldapcompare** opens a connection to an LDAP server, binds, and performs a compare using specified parameters. The *DN* should be a distinguished name in the directory. *Attr* should be a known attribute. If followed by one colon, the assertion *value* should be provided as a string. If followed by two colons, the base64 encoding of the value is provided. The result code of the compare is provided as the exit code and, unless ran with **-z**, the program prints TRUE, FALSE, or UNDEFINED on standard output. ## OPTIONS - **-V**\[**V**\] Print version info. If **-VV** is given, only the version information is printed. - **-d** *debuglevel* Set the LDAP debugging level to *debuglevel*. **ldapcompare** must be compiled with LDAP\_DEBUG defined for this option to have any effect. - **-n** Show what would be done, but don't actually perform the compare. Useful for debugging in conjunction with **-v**. - **-v** Run in verbose mode, with many diagnostics written to standard output. - **-z** Run in quiet mode, no output is written. You must check the return status. Useful in shell scripts. - **-M**\[**M**\] Enable manage DSA IT control. **-MM** makes control critical. - **-x** Use simple authentication instead of SASL. - **-D** *binddn* Use the Distinguished Name *binddn* to bind to the LDAP directory. For SASL binds, the server is expected to ignore this value. - **-W** Prompt for simple authentication. This is used instead of specifying the password on the command line. - **-w** *passwd* Use *passwd* as the password for simple authentication. - **-y** *passwdfile* Use complete contents of *passwdfile* as the password for simple authentication. Note that *complete* means that any leading or trailing whitespaces, including newlines, will be considered part of the password and, unlike other software, they will not be stripped. As a consequence, passwords stored in files by commands like [**echo**(1)](/echo/1.md) will not behave as expected, since [**echo**(1)](/echo/1.md) by default appends a trailing newline to the echoed string. The recommended portable way to store a cleartext password in a file for use with this option is to use [**slappasswd**(8)](/slappasswd/8.md) with *{CLEARTEXT}* as hash and the option **-n**. - **-H** *ldapuri* Specify URI(s) referring to the ldap server(s); only the protocol/host/port fields are allowed; a list of URI, separated by whitespace or commas is expected. - **-P** {**2**\|**3**} Specify the LDAP protocol version to use. - **-e** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\] - **-E** \[**!**\]***ext***\[**=*extparam***\] Specify general extensions with **-e** and compare extensions with **-E**. ´**!**´ indicates criticality. General extensions: ``` [!]assert= (an RFC 4515 Filter) !authzid= ("dn:" or "u:") [!]bauthzid (RFC 3829 authzid control) [!]chaining[=[/]] [!]manageDSAit [!]noop ppolicy [!]postread[=] (a comma-separated attribute list) [!]preread[=] (a comma-separated attribute list) [!]relax sessiontracking[=] abandon,cancel,ignore (SIGINT sends abandon/cancel, or ignores response; if critical, doesn't wait for SIGINT. not really controls) ``` Compare extensions: ``` !dontUseCopy ``` - **-o** *opt***\[=***optparam***\]** Specify any [**ldap.conf**(5)](/ldap.conf/5.md) option or one of the following: ``` nettimeout= (in seconds, or "none" or "max") ldif_wrap= (in columns, or "no" for no wrapping) ``` - **-O** *security-properties* Specify SASL security properties. - **-I** Enable SASL Interactive mode. Always prompt. Default is to prompt only as needed. - **-Q** Enable SASL Quiet mode. Never prompt. - **-N** Do not use reverse DNS to canonicalize SASL host name. - **-U** *authcid* Specify the authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the ID depends on the actual SASL mechanism used. - **-R** *realm* Specify the realm of authentication ID for SASL bind. The form of the realm depends on the actual SASL mechanism used. - **-X** *authzid* Specify the requested authorization ID for SASL bind. *authzid* must be one of the following formats: **dn:***\* or **u:***\* - **-Y** *mech* Specify the SASL mechanism to be used for authentication. If it's not specified, the program will choose the best mechanism the server knows. - **-Z**\[**Z**\] Issue StartTLS (Transport Layer Security) extended operation. If you use **-ZZ**, the command will require the operation to be successful. ## EXAMPLES ``` ldapcompare "uid=babs,dc=example,dc=com" sn:Jensen ldapcompare "uid=babs,dc=example,dc=com" sn::SmVuc2Vu ``` are all equivalent. ## LIMITATIONS Requiring the value be passed on the command line is limiting and introduces some security concerns. The command should support a mechanism to specify the location (file name or URL) to read the value from. ## SEE ALSO [**ldap.conf**(5)](/ldap.conf/5.md), [**ldif**(5)](/ldif/5.md), [**ldap**(3)](/ldap/3.md), [**ldap\_compare\_ext**(3)](/ldap_compare_ext/3.md) ## AUTHOR The OpenLDAP Project \ ## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS **OpenLDAP Software** is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project \. **OpenLDAP Software** is derived from the University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.