Duplicate Finder

What it does

Over the years, the same file tends to get copied into multiple folders: the photo you saved to your desktop and the downloads folder, the work document you emailed yourself, the backup of a backup. Duplicate Finder walks through a folder you choose, computes a cryptographic hash of every file, and groups together files whose contents are identical — even if the names are different.

Why compare by content?

Two files named differently can be identical (the same PDF saved as report.pdf and report_final.pdf). Two files with the same name might be different (two different songs both called track01.mp3). Duplicate Finder uses SHA-based hashing so you can trust that anything flagged as a duplicate is truly byte-for-byte identical.

How to use it

1. Go to Clean → Duplicate Finder.
2. Use the Browse button to pick the folder you want to scan. Good choices: Pictures, Downloads, Documents, or a specific external drive.
3. Pick a Minimum Size. Hashing thousands of tiny files is slow and usually not worth your time. A 1 MB floor is a sensible default.
4. Click Scan. Progress is shown live.
5. Review the results. Duplicates are shown in groups, sorted by the amount of space you'd save by keeping only one copy.
6. In each group, tick the copies you want to delete (leaving at least one unticked).
7. Click Delete Selected. Files go to the Recycle Bin, not straight to permanent deletion, so you can recover if you change your mind.