Find duplicate files with fdupes
fdupes compares files by size then checksum and reports groups of identical files, with interactive deletion to keep one copy of each.
Run `fdupes -r ~/Documents` to list duplicates; run `fdupes -rd ~/Documents` to delete copies interactively, keeping one per group.
01Command
Command
$ fdupes -r ~/Documents02What it does
Downloaded photos and re-copied folders silently accumulate duplicates. fdupes first groups by size, then compares content hashes, so matches are byte-identical. Pair it with `-s` to include hidden files or `fdupes -rL` to hardlink duplicates instead of deleting (`-L`), saving space without data loss.
03Risk
!Warning: Deletion is destructive — review the list before using `-d`, and never run it against backup directories where 'duplicates' are intentional.
04Undo
Undo
$ null05Sources
- fdupes(1) — find or delete duplicate filesEvidence: -r recurses; -d interactively delete keeping one copy
- fdupes — duplicate file finderEvidence: size/hash comparison strategy explained in README
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Files & Folders