A button-by-button reference for scanning folders, understanding exact duplicates, reviewing file locations and safely moving selected copies to the macOS Trash.
The shortest safe workflow from opening the tool to completing the job.
Use Select Folder or drag a folder onto Duplicate Finder.
Choose how small a file can be before it is excluded from the scan.
Run Scan for Duplicates and allow exact-match verification to complete.
Inspect groups, paths and files. Mark only verified exact copies as Keep or Trash.
Use Review Cleanup and then Move to Trash only after checking the selection.
Everything on the starting scan screen.
Chooses the folder whose contents will be scanned.
Use Select Folder or drag a folder onto the landing area. Duplicate Finder scans locally and does not upload the files.
Replaces the currently selected scan folder.
Use this before a scan when you want to inspect a different location.
Excludes files smaller than the selected threshold from the duplicate scan.
Available choices in the current build are 1 KB, 10 KB, 100 KB, 1 MB, 25 MB+, 500 MB+ and 1024 MB+. Choose a low value for a broad scan or a higher value when you only care about larger files.
Starts the local duplicate scan and verification process.
Duplicate Finder first considers file size and then verifies exact candidates with SHA-256 content hashes. Exact duplicates can have different filenames.
Safely stops the current scan.
Use this when the selected folder is larger than expected or you no longer need the scan to finish.
Warns when some files or folders could not be accessed or read.
If the results say items could not be read, treat the duplicate result as partial. Resolve permissions or access issues and rescan when completeness matters.
Controls that help you find the right copies before taking action.
Shows files proven content-identical using matching file size and SHA-256 hash.
These are the duplicate groups eligible for the Keep/Trash cleanup workflow, subject to safety protections.
Shows files with the same filename and file size that are not necessarily proven identical.
Use this category for manual review only. Matching size does not prove matching content.
Shows filenames that occur in more than one location.
Review manually because the file sizes and contents may differ.
Reserved for near-duplicate or visual-similarity review.
In version 1 this feature is planned rather than an active exact-duplicate cleanup category.
Filters the displayed duplicate results.
Type part of a filename to narrow the visible results. Clear the search to return to the complete result set.
Changes the order in which duplicate groups or files are presented.
Current result sorting includes views based on reclaimable size, file count, file size and filename.
Controls whether folder paths are displayed in the results table.
Turn it ON when you need to compare where copies are stored. Turn it OFF when you want a cleaner filename-focused view.
Lets you inspect a copy before deciding whether to keep or trash it.
Open File launches the file in its normal macOS application. Reveal in Finder shows the surrounding folder and path.
Controls that can affect files. These deliberately require review.
Marks each verified exact duplicate copy as the one to retain or a copy proposed for cleanup.
Use the toggle only on SHA-256 verified exact duplicates. Trash means the copy is selected for the later cleanup step; it is not moved immediately.
Marks protected or non-cleanup items that FilesStayLocal will not move automatically.
Use Open File or Reveal in Finder to inspect these items manually.
Removes the current Trash selections.
Use this when you want to reconsider the cleanup choices without rescanning.
Opens the final review of all files selected for Trash.
Check the filenames, locations, file count and selected size before continuing.
Moves the approved selected copies to the macOS Trash.
Use only after Review Cleanup confirms the exact files you intended to remove from their current folders.
Runs the selected-folder scan again and refreshes duplicate counts.
Use this after cleanup or whenever files may have changed since the previous scan.
Important behaviour to understand before sharing, cleaning or exporting files.
Automatic cleanup is enabled only for files verified with matching size and SHA-256 content hash.
At least one unchanged verified copy must remain in every exact-duplicate group.
macOS- or application-managed locations may appear for awareness but are Review Only.
The current v1 help states that hidden files and package contents are skipped, and symbolic links are not treated as normal cleanup files.
The guide remains available whenever you need to look up a button or setting again.