The cmp in coreutils understands: -n, --bytes=LIMIT compare at most LIMIT bytes so head is not really necessary: find . -name '*.csv' -type f -exec cmp

The cmp in coreutils understands: -n, --bytes=LIMIT compare at most LIMIT bytes so head is not really necessary: find . -name '*.csv' -type f -exec cmp -sn 3 {} bom.dat \; -print Using -exec as a filter is a nice feature more people should use. That -type was put there just to avoid directories.