6.7 Modified Files
A file whose on-disk content no longer matches the hash recorded at install has been modified since installation — by a person, by a program, or by corruption.
6.7.1 Where the check runs #
peipkg compares recorded hashes against disk in three places.
peipkg verify does it on demand, across every recorded file, and
reports what differs.
An upgrade does it for configuration files, to decide whether to preserve an operator's edit (§6.2).
An uninstall does it for configuration files too, and puts each modified one to the operator before the removal is prepared: remove it with the previous content kept as a backup, keep it as an unowned file, or abort (§6.6).
6.7.2 The cost of checking #
Hashing every installed file at uninstall is expensive: a large package
on slow storage takes seconds. The check is therefore restricted to the
paths where customisation is expected — the configuration scope the
upgrade already uses, /usr/etc/ and the legacy /etc/ — and skipped
for binaries, libraries and data. A hand-patched binary is removed
without a question; peipkg verify is the tool for finding one.