Roomy
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Duplicate Finder

Find duplicate files on your Mac. Matched by what’s inside.

Downloads saved twice, exports copied to the Desktop, folders backed up “just in case”. Roomy finds files with identical contents and keeps the original.

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Free scan No account needed macOS 14 Sonoma or later Apple silicon and Intel

Roomy is a paid app. The free version scans everything and cleans up to 500 MB.

Illustration with example data.

Compared byte for byte

Names lie. “Invoice.pdf” and “Invoice copy.pdf” may be identical, and two files called “IMG_0001.jpg” may be different photos. So Roomy ignores names and compares contents, in three fast stages.

  1. Same size

    Files are grouped by exact size. A file with a unique size can’t have a duplicate, so most files are ruled out instantly without being read.

  2. Same start and end

    For files that share a size, the first and last 64 KB are compared. Files that merely happen to be the same size drop out here.

  3. Same fingerprint

    The remaining candidates are read in full and compared by SHA-256 fingerprint. Only files with identical contents end up in a set.

Hard links are counted once, because removing one frees nothing. Files below the minimum size are skipped: 1 MB by default, or 100 KB or 10 MB if you prefer.

Where it looks

Your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Movies and Music folders, plus any folder you add, such as an external drive.

  • ~/Desktop
  • ~/Documents
  • ~/Downloads
  • ~/Pictures
  • ~/Movies
  • ~/Music
  • + Add Folder…

What it skips

  • Your Library folder, including iCloud Drive and other cloud folders stored there.
  • Packages and app bundles, such as the Photos and Music libraries, so a library is never damaged.
  • Hidden files and the Trash.
  • Build folders: node_modules, Pods and DerivedData.

How to find and remove duplicate files on a Mac

  1. Open Duplicates

    Click Duplicates in the sidebar. Add folders or change the minimum size if you like, then start the scan. A progress bar shows how many files have been compared.

  2. Look through the sets

    Each set shows the file name, how many copies there are, their size and the space the extra copies take. Every copy shows its folder and creation date.

  3. Choose what to keep

    Click Keep Oldest Copies to select every copy except the original, or tick copies yourself. Reveal any file in Finder or open it to check.

  4. Move to Trash

    Click Move to Trash… and confirm. The copies go to the Trash, ready to put back if you change your mind.

Tips for cleaning up duplicates

Start with the biggest sets. Sets are sorted by the space their extra copies waste, so the top of the list is where a few clicks free the most space. Videos, disk images and ZIP archives are the usual suspects.

Check the folder, not just the name. A copy in a project folder may be there on purpose, for example a logo used by two documents. If a copy needs to stay, simply untick it.

Downloads is a good place to begin. Files downloaded twice get names like “file (1).pdf”, and they are almost always safe to remove. For old downloads in general, the Large File Finder and the User Files category help too.

Duplicate finder questions

How does Roomy find duplicate files on a Mac?

By content, in three steps: same size, then the same first and last 64 KB, then the same SHA-256 fingerprint of the whole file. File names and dates don’t matter, so “Report (1).pdf” and “Report final.pdf” are found if their contents are identical.

Which copy is kept?

Keep Oldest Copies selects every copy except the one created first, which is usually the original. You can change the selection before anything moves, and nothing moves until you confirm.

Does it find similar photos?

No. It finds files that are byte-for-byte identical. Edited, resized or re-exported photos are different files. For photos inside the Photos library, use the Duplicates album in Photos, which is built into recent versions of macOS.

Will it break my Photos or Music library?

No. Libraries are packages, and the duplicate finder doesn’t look inside packages, app bundles or your Library folder. Deleting files from inside a library would damage it, so they are skipped.

What happens to files I remove?

They move to the Trash, so you can put them back from Finder. Emptying the Trash frees the space. If your Desktop and Documents sync with iCloud, removing a copy there removes it from your other devices too, as it would in Finder.

Why aren’t hard links listed?

Hard links are two names for the same data on disk. Removing one frees no space, so Roomy counts each underlying file only once.

From the help center

One copy is enough.
Find the rest for free.

Download Roomy, see exactly what is taking up space, and clean up to 500 MB for free. Nothing is removed until you say so.

Download free See pricing

Version 1.0.0 5 MB macOS 14 Sonoma or later Apple silicon and Intel