How to Remove Duplicate Files From Your Mac: 5 Quick Ways

Written by

Ojash

Reviewed by

Hashir Ibrahim

Last updated: October 15, 2024

Expert verified

Using your Mac regularly often leads to a pile-up of duplicate files. You can easily end up with multiple copies of photos, documents, or songs, and before you know it, they’re taking up too much space. I was on a duplicate file cleaning spree just the other day and I thought I should share some quick and easy ways to remove duplicate files from your Mac. So, let’s get started.

How to Remove Duplicate Files From Your Mac

Wondering how to remove duplicate files on Mac? I’ve got four easiest and most practical methods to find and remove duplicate files from your Mac. Check them out below.

1. Delete Duplicate Files on Mac In One Click With MacKeeper

I’ve always found Mac’s built-in methods for finding duplicate files to be pretty accurate but incredibly tedious. I just don’t have the patience to search through folder after folder manually. That’s why I turned to MacKeeper. Its Duplicates Finder feature is quick, easy, and super effective. It helped me free up a ton of space on my Mac in literally one click.

Here’s how to remove duplicate files from your Mac using MacKeeper:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. Open MacKeeper on your Mac and click Duplicates Finder in the left sidebar.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Select a folder in the left menu to review duplicate files before deletion.

5. Alternatively, click Check All and tap the Remove Selected button to remove all duplicate files at once.

6. Tap the Remove button on the pop-up to confirm the deletion.

7. This will remove the selected files, and you’ll get a Removal Completed message. Click Finish to end the process.

2. Find and Remove Duplicate Files With Smart Folders

If you prefer a built-in solution for managing duplicate files on your Mac, Smart Folders are a great tool. They make it easy to find duplicates by letting you filter files by type, name, or last opened date. Just set your criteria, and Smart Folders will sort for you. Plus, you can save these settings, and the folder will automatically update with any new matching files.

Here’s how to use Smart Folders on your Mac to find and remove duplicate files:

1. Open Finder on your Mac, click the File menu, and select New Smart Folder.

2. Click the + icon in the upper-right corner of the New Smart Folder window.

3. Set the search parameters for finding duplicate files. For instance, select Kind as the first condition, Image as the second, and PNG as the third if you want to access duplicate image files on your Mac.
4. Click the + sign again, select Name, choose is, and type in copy.
5. Click Save to save the search results as a Smart Folder.

6. Specify a name and location for your Smart Folder and tap the Save button.

7. Review the search results and delete the duplicate files.

Using Smart Folders is quicker than searching your entire hard drive for duplicates, but it still needs patience. Manually reviewing each file, even after narrowing them down, takes time. So, I suggest you focus on particular folders, file types, or file sizes. Here’s how:

How to Find Duplicate Files in Specific Folders

To locate duplicate files within certain folders, here’s how to create a Smart Folder for a targeted search:

1. Open Finder and navigate to the folder you wish to search.
2. Choose File > New Smart Folder from the menu.

3. At the top of the window, in the Search bar, select the folder name.

4. Click the + icon in the top-right corner.

5. Specify your search parameters and hit Save.

6. Give your Smart Folder a name and decide on its save location.
7. Arrange your files by name, size, or creation date to easily spot duplicates.
8. For removal, drag the duplicates to your Bin.

How to Find Duplicates of Specific File Types

To locate duplicates of certain file types, use Smart Folders with customized search criteria. Follow these steps:

1. Go to File > New Smart Folder.

2. Click the + in the top-right corner.

3. In the first drop-down menu, choose Kind.
4. Select Image from the second drop-down menu and choose a specific file extension in the third drop-down menu.
5. Click Save.

6. Name your Smart Folder and select a save location.
7. Once saved, select the duplicate files, right-click, and choose Move to Bin.

How to Find Duplicates by File Sizes

To search for duplicates based on file size, particularly useful for removing larger duplicates, follow these steps:

1. Open a Finder window and click the + in the top right corner.

2. In the first drop-down, select File Size. If it’s not visible, choose Other…, search for File Size, and add it to the menu.
3. Specify your file size criteria.
4. Click Save, name your folder, and choose its save location.

5. After creating your Smart Folder, select the duplicates, right-click, and select Move to Bin.

3. Delete Duplicate Photos Using the Photos App

The Photos app on your Mac stores your photos by default. But I’ve noticed that if I import photos from other folders on my Mac into the Photos app, it creates duplicate copies. This happens because the system doesn’t move the original photos but instead makes copies in the Photos library.

So, it’s best to delete duplicate photos on your Mac by following these steps:

1. Open the Photos app by searching for Photos in Spotlight search (Command ⌘ + Space).

2. In the Photos app, navigate to the Duplicates tab in the sidebar to see all your pictures.

3. Select the duplicate photos you wish to delete. You can pick photos from a single row or multiple rows to delete them all at once.
4. Then, click Merge Photos.
5. By doing so, your Mac will retain the original image and remove the duplicates.

4. Remove Duplicates in Apple Mail Downloads

I discovered something interesting while using Apple Mail on my Mac. There’s this hidden folder called Mail Downloads tucked away in the Library > Containers directory. It automatically saves every document and files attached to emails in the Mail app. But every time I click an attachment to save it to my Mac, I end up creating a duplicate.

So, if you don’t want to clutter up your system with mail downloads duplicates, remove duplicate files from your Mac Mail Downloads folder. Here’s how:

1. Open Finder, click Go in the menu bar, and select Go to Folder.

2. Type the following path in the empty field and press Enter:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.MailCacheDelete/

3. Open the Data folder in MailCacheDelete directory.

4. In the Data folder, open Library and go to Mail Downloads.

5. Here, you’ll see the duplicate mail downloads. Right-click the files and folders you want to remove and select Move to Bin.

5. Find Duplicate Files With Terminal

Before using Terminal, it’s important to do so only if you’re comfortable and familiar with it. Terminal is a powerful tool and can cause significant issues if used incorrectly. I’ve tested the steps below without issues, but it’s crucial to be cautious and double-check all commands you input.

To search for duplicate files using Terminal, follow these steps:

1. Open Terminal by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

2. Navigate to the desired folder using the cd command. For instance, for Downloads, type cd ~/Downloads and press Enter.
3. Enter the following command to find duplicates and press Enter:

find ./ -type f -exec md5 {} \; | awk -F '=' '{print $2 "\t" $1}' | sort | tee duplicates.txt

This creates a text file listing duplicates in the specified folder. However, it might miss some duplicates. You’ll need to review and differentiate the duplicates from the originals manually. Plus, files with slightly different names may not be flagged as duplicates.

Why Are There So Many Duplicate Files on My Mac?

Now, you might be wondering how these duplicates ended up on your Mac in the first place. Well, there are several reasons. Maybe you accidentally copied a file to another location or downloaded the same file twice.

Here are the most common reasons for duplicates appearing on your Mac:

1. 🚫 Accidental Duplication: You might have accidentally copied or duplicated files while organizing or backing up your data on Mac.
2. 📁 File Synchronization: If you use cloud storage or synchronization services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or iCloud, you may have unintentionally created duplicates of your files.
3. 🐛 Software Bugs: Software bugs can sometimes create duplicates, especially if you use programs that manipulate files or media.
4. 📝 File Format Conversions: When you convert files from one format to another, such as converting a PDF file to a Word document, it’s possible to create duplicate copies of the original file.
5. 💾 Manual Backups: If you manually back up your data to external hard drives or other storage devices, creating duplicates is possible.

How to Prevent Duplicate Files on Your Mac

While it’s important to know how to remove duplicate files, it’s equally crucial to understand how to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Let me share some strategies I’ve developed to keep my Mac’s files organized, significantly reducing duplicates.

• 📂Organize Your Files Regularly: I’ve found that a consistent system for naming and organizing files works wonders. I use clear, descriptive file names and sort them into labeled folders.
• 🧹 Regular Cleanups: Set a schedule for regular file organization. I set aside time every month to declutter my Mac. You can do it weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on your usage.
• ☁️ Sync Smarts: If you use cloud services like iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive, ensure your sync settings are correctly configured to avoid creating duplicates across devices.
• 📥 Carefully Download and Save Files: Before downloading a file, check to see if you already have it. Plus, if you create a different document version, rename it clearly to differentiate it from the original.
• 📑 Avoid Multiple Copies: I keep a single copy of each file, rather than scattering them across different folders.
• ➡️ Transfer with Care: Whenever I transfer files from external devices, I do a quick check to ensure I’m not importing duplicates. It’s a small step that goes a long way.
• 🗂️ Use File Management Tools: Consider using file management tools to help you organize and find files more efficiently.

Delete All Duplicate Files on Your Mac

Now that you know how to delete duplicate files on Mac, you may want to optimize its performance further and free up space on your Mac. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Find and delete duplicate photos from your Mac to save valuable storage space.
• Keep your system running smoothly by clearing junk files regularly on your Mac.
• Free up RAM on your Mac to prevent it from overheating.

Frequently Asked Questions