dupegun 1.3.0

Cross-platform duplicate file finder and cleaner

dupegun

A fast, cross-platform command-line tool to find and eliminate duplicate files.

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What is dupegun?

dupegun scans your folders, detects duplicate files using a fast 3-pass hashing engine, and lets you delete, move, or hard-link them — all from your terminal. It works on every file type and every major operating system.

No GUI. No bloat. Just fast, safe, and simple.

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Install

pip install dupegun

Requires Python 3.9 or higher.

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Quick Start

# Scan a folder and see all duplicates
dupegun scan ~/Downloads

# Preview what would be deleted (nothing actually deleted)
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --strategy newest

# Actually delete duplicates
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --strategy newest --no-dry-run

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Commands

scan — find duplicates

dupegun scan <path> [options]

# Scan a single folder
dupegun scan ~/Downloads

# Scan multiple folders at once
dupegun scan ~/Downloads ~/Documents ~/Desktop

# Skip files smaller than 1 MB
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --min-size 1MB

# Scan specific size ranges (e.g., between 1MB and 100MB)
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --min-size 1MB --max-size 100MB

# Regex filename filter (e.g., files starting with "Copy of")
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --pattern "Copy of.*"

# Only scan image files
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --type .jpg --type .png --type .gif

# Only scan video files
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --type .mp4 --type .mkv --type .avi

# Skip specific folders
dupegun scan C:\ --exclude Windows --exclude "Program Files"

# Just show total wasted space — no file list
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --summary

# Show only the duplicate count and wasted space
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --count

# Export results to JSON
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --json results.json

# Export results to CSV
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --csv results.csv

# Generate a self-contained HTML report you can open in any browser
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --html report.html

# Combine filters — only duplicate JPEGs, skip cache folders
dupegun scan ~/Photos --type .jpg --exclude .thumbnails --summary

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stats — folder statistics

Get a quick overview of a folder: total files, total size, duplicate groups, and how much space is wasted.

dupegun stats <path> [options]

# Basic stats for a folder
dupegun stats ~/Downloads

# Stats for images only
dupegun stats ~/Photos --type .jpg --type .png

# Stats excluding system folders
dupegun stats C:\ --exclude Windows --exclude "Program Files"

Output example:

Scanned paths     ~/Downloads
Total files       1,243
Total size        45.2 GB
Duplicate groups  87
Duplicate files   201
Wasted space      8.3 GB (18.4%)

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compare — cross-directory duplicates

Find files that exist in both folders by content, not by name. Great for checking what your backup has in common with your active drive.

dupegun compare <path_a> <path_b> [options]

# Find files duplicated between Downloads and a Backup drive
dupegun compare ~/Downloads ~/Backup

# Compare only images
dupegun compare ~/Photos /Volumes/Backup/Photos --type .jpg --type .png

# Compare and skip cache folders
dupegun compare ~/Projects ~/Backup --exclude node_modules --exclude .git

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delete — remove duplicates

dupegun delete <path> [options]

# Preview (dry-run is ON by default — nothing deleted)
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --strategy newest

# Actually delete
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --strategy newest --no-dry-run

# Confirm each group one by one before deleting
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --no-dry-run --interactive

# Auto-delete by age (only delete copies older than 30 days)
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --older-than 30 --no-dry-run

# Delete only duplicate images, skip cache folders
dupegun delete ~/Photos --type .jpg --type .png --exclude .thumbnails --no-dry-run

# Save a log of everything deleted
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --no-dry-run --log deleted.log

# Combine age filter with log
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --older-than 30 --no-dry-run --log deleted.log

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move — quarantine duplicates

dupegun move <path> --dest <quarantine-folder> [options]

# Preview
dupegun move ~/Downloads --dest ~/quarantine

# Actually move
dupegun move ~/Downloads --dest ~/quarantine --no-dry-run

Keeps the original copy in place. Moves all duplicates to the destination folder for you to review manually.

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hardlink — save space, keep all paths

dupegun hardlink <path> [options]

# Preview
dupegun hardlink ~/Photos

# Actually hardlink
dupegun hardlink ~/Photos --no-dry-run

Replaces duplicate files with hard links. Both file paths remain on your system, but they share the same physical disk space — no data is lost.

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Options

Option	Commands	Description	Default
--strategy shortest	delete, move, hardlink	Keep the file with the shortest path	Default
--strategy newest	delete, move, hardlink	Keep the most recently modified copy	—
--strategy oldest	delete, move, hardlink	Keep the oldest copy	—
--dry-run	delete, move, hardlink	Preview without making any changes	ON
--no-dry-run	delete, move, hardlink	Actually perform the action	—
--interactive	delete	Confirm each duplicate group before acting	OFF
--older-than <days>	delete	Only delete copies modified more than this many days ago	—
--log <file>	delete	Append a TSV log of every deleted file to this path	—
--min-size <size>	all	Skip files smaller than this size (e.g. 1MB)	1 byte
--max-size <size>	all	Skip files larger than this size (e.g. 100MB)	no limit
--pattern <regex>	all	Only scan filenames matching this regex	none
--type <ext>	all	Only include files with this extension (repeatable)	all types
--exclude <name>	all	Skip any folder with this name (repeatable)	none
--summary	scan	Print total wasted space only, no file list	OFF
--count	scan	Print group count and wasted space, then exit	OFF
--json <file>	scan	Export scan results to JSON	—
--csv <file>	scan	Export scan results to CSV	—
--html <file>	scan	Export a self-contained HTML report	—

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How it works

dupegun uses a 3-pass engine to detect duplicates accurately and efficiently:

Pass 1 — Group files by exact byte size
         (files with unique sizes are skipped immediately)

Pass 2 — Hash the first 4 KB of each size-match
         (quick pre-filter before full hashing)

Pass 3 — Full SHA-256 hash of remaining candidates
         (guaranteed accurate duplicate detection)

This approach is significantly faster than hashing every file — large folders with thousands of files are handled quickly.

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Supported file types

dupegun works on all file types — it compares raw file contents, not names or extensions.

Category	Examples
Documents	.pdf .docx .xlsx .pptx .txt
Images	.jpg .png .gif .bmp .webp
Videos	.mp4 .mkv .avi .mov
Audio	.mp3 .wav .flac .aac
Archives	.zip .rar .7z .tar .gz
Code	.py .js .html .css .java
Everything else	Any file, any extension

Two files with different names but identical contents will always be detected.

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Safety

• Dry-run is ON by default on every destructive command (delete, move, hardlink). You always see a preview first.
• Use --no-dry-run only when you are sure.
• Use --interactive to confirm each group one by one.
• Use move instead of delete if you want a safety net.
• Use --log to keep a record of everything that was deleted.

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Platform support

Platform	Supported
Windows	Yes
Linux	Yes
macOS	Yes

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Examples

# Find duplicate images in Downloads
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --type .jpg --type .png --type .gif

# Find duplicate videos, skip system folders
dupegun scan C:\ --type .mp4 --type .mkv --exclude Windows --exclude "Program Files"

# Quick summary — how much space am I wasting?
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --summary

# Just the count
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --count
# 47 duplicate group(s) found, 2.3 GB wasted

# Full folder overview
dupegun stats ~/Downloads

# Generate an HTML report and open it in a browser
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --html report.html

# Delete duplicates and keep a log of what was removed
dupegun delete ~/Downloads --strategy newest --no-dry-run --log deleted.log

# Find duplicates in Downloads, skip files under 500 KB
dupegun scan C:\Users\You\Downloads --min-size 500KB

# Delete duplicate images keeping the newest copy
dupegun delete ~/Photos --type .jpg --type .png --strategy newest --no-dry-run

# Move duplicates from two folders into one quarantine folder
dupegun move C:\Photos C:\Backup --dest C:\quarantine --no-dry-run

# Export full report to CSV and open in Excel
dupegun scan C:\Users\You\Documents --csv report.csv

# Compare active projects to a backup drive to find cross-duplicates
dupegun compare ~/Projects /Volumes/BackupDrive/Projects

# Find duplicates matching a specific filename pattern and size range
dupegun scan ~/Downloads --pattern "Copy of.*" --min-size 1MB --max-size 50MB

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Changelog

v1.3.0

• stats command: Show total files, total size, duplicate groups, duplicate files, and wasted space percentage for any folder.
• --html flag on scan: Generate a self-contained HTML report with a dark theme — no external dependencies, just open in any browser.
• --log flag on delete: Append a TSV log of every deleted file (timestamp, action, kept path, deleted path, size). Appends across multiple runs so you have a full audit trail.

v1.2.0

• compare command: Compare two directories to find cross-duplicates.
• --older-than flag: Auto-delete files based on age (safeguards recent files).
• --max-size flag: Combine with --min-size to scan specific size ranges.
• --pattern flag: Filter scans by regex filename patterns.
• Size parsing now supports human-readable formats (e.g., 1MB, 2GB).

v1.1.0

• --type filter: Scan only specific file extensions (e.g. --type .jpg --type .png).
• --exclude filter: Skip folders by name (e.g. --exclude node_modules).
• --summary flag: Show total wasted space without printing every file.
• --count flag: Print duplicate group count and wasted space in one line.
• --type and --exclude available on all commands (scan, delete, move, hardlink).

v1.0.1

• Minor packaging fixes.

v1.0.0

• Initial release: scan, delete, move, hardlink commands.
• 3-pass hashing engine.
• --strategy, --dry-run, --interactive, --min-size, --json, --csv.

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! To get started:

git clone https://github.com/Prasanna-Balakrishnan/dupegun.git
cd dupegun
pip install -e .
pip install pytest
python -m pytest tests/ -v

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License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.

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Author

Made by Prasanna B

GitHub: https://github.com/Prasanna-Balakrishnan/dupegun

If this tool helped you, consider giving it a star on GitHub!