extundelete vs LiME: 2026 Comparison
extundelete is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. LiME is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best digital forensics and incident response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Incident response teams investigating Linux systems need extundelete when file carving speed matters more than UI polish; it recovers deleted files from ext3 and ext4 partitions faster than graphical alternatives because it's a command-line tool without overhead. The utility has been stable across decades of Linux distributions and requires no installation beyond a single binary. Skip this if your team lacks Linux command-line competency or needs to recover from encrypted filesystems; extundelete won't help there, and the learning curve will slow your timeline.
Incident responders and forensic analysts investigating Linux systems need LiME because it acquires volatile memory with minimal process interference, preserving evidence that disk-based tools will miss. The tool runs from a loadable kernel module and leaves a negligible footprint on running processes, critical when you're trying to capture malware behavior and rootkit artifacts before shutdown. Skip this if your team lacks Linux kernel debugging experience or needs GUI-driven triage; LiME requires command-line proficiency and assumes you have a lab environment ready to analyze the raw memory dumps.
