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Czkawka

Published by Rafał Mikrut

Multi functional app to find duplicates, empty folders, similar images, broken files etc.

Open sourceMIT

Highlights

  • Finds duplicate files by comparing partial or full hashes rather than filenames
  • Separate modes for empty folders, empty files, large files, temporary files and invalid symbolic links
  • Perceptual hashing finds visually similar images; related modes cover similar videos and music matched on tags
  • Detects broken archives, images, documents and audio, and files whose contents do not match their extension
  • Multithreaded scanning, rule-based selection within groups, and a command-line binary for scripts

About this application

Czkawka is a Rust program for finding files you probably do not need. Its best-known mode looks for duplicate files, narrowing candidates by size or name first and then comparing partial or full hashes, so identical copies are identified by content rather than by what they are called.

Other modes cover empty folders, empty files, unusually large files, temporary files, invalid symbolic links, files whose contents do not match their extension, and archives, images, documents or audio files that fail to open at all. Similar images are matched with perceptual hashing, which catches resized, recompressed or lightly edited copies rather than only byte-identical ones; comparable modes exist for video files and for music files matched on their tags.

Scanning runs across multiple threads, and results arrive grouped so files can be selected by rule — keep the oldest, keep the newest, keep whichever sits in a chosen directory — before being deleted, moved or replaced with links. The project ships a graphical interface and a command-line binary that runs the same scans for use in scripts.

Linux

We do not host this file, we do not scan it and we do not inspect its contents. Read what the source says, then decide for yourself.