Removing duplicate files on your computer’s hard drive or SSD, as well as on other external storage units can yield lots of benefits but the main one is, of course, increasing the free space on all of them.
Depending on your approach, this can either be painstakingly difficult, or remarkably easy. The latter can be achieved by simply installing a specialized duplicate remover and letting the app do all the heavy lifting for you.
If you’re looking for a dependable duplicate remover for Linux, then you should check out Detwinner.
How it works
Just like most dup removers out there, this tool allows you to search, preview, and delete duplicate files in one go and with no more than a few mouse clicks.
The way it works is as follows: you choose the search options, press the Search button, review the found duplicates, select the files you want to remove, and press the delete button, it’s as easy as that.
The app allows you to choose between two search modes: Exact Duplicates, or Similar Images. The Exact Duplicates mode ensures a 100% byte-to-byte match via a special hash function, while the Similar Images mode generates groups of images that look alike using similarity levels specified by the user. These are files size, attributes, or regular expressions.
More than meets the eye
Of course, the beauty of Detwinner is that it’s very customizable. For instance, both modes can be configured by clicking on the little Settings icon next to them. You can change various settings that include restrictions on file size, including/excluding certain file attributes, regular expressions to match file paths, and so forth.
When it comes to deleting files, this can be either selected manually or via the Smart Select button in the toolbar (this will apply the selection for all the groups). You can also choose what happens to the deleted files. For instance, files can be deleted permanently, moved to Trash, or moved to a backup folder of your choosing.
Conclusion
Even though there are a lot of nuances when it comes to how Detwinner can help you locate and delete duplicate files, the app is, by all accounts, remarkably user-friendly. This should make a favorite between both newbie or day-to-day users, as well as those who want a bit more control over the whole process.
All in all, Detwinner is one of the best duplicate removers for Linux.
