How to Use Metadata Fixer Duplicate Finder

Metadata Fixer Duplicate Finder scans one folder and everything below it, separates byte-identical files from visually similar photos, and lets you choose exactly what is deleted. The important part is choosing the right scan root. If two copies live under different album or year folders, both folders must sit inside the folder you select.

This tutorial covers the current Duplicate Finder interface from the first Browse Folder… button through permanent deletion. If the duplicates came from a Google export and you want to understand why they exist before removing anything, read why Google Takeout creates duplicate photos first.

Before You Scan: Choose the Complete Library Folder

Duplicate Finder only compares files inside the folder you give it, but the scan is recursive: every nested folder is included. Select the highest common parent that contains all copies you want compared.

Fixed Google Photos/          ← select this folder
├── Photos from 2022/
├── Photos from 2023/
├── Family album/
└── Holiday album/

Selecting only Photos from 2023 cannot find its duplicate copy in Holiday album. For a whole-library cleanup, select the parent of every year and album folder. Multiple old Takeout exports can also sit below the same parent if the goal is to compare them with each other.

Work on the processed output, not the original Takeout zip files. Restore dates and other metadata first, then scan the resulting photo folder. That keeps the source export available as a backup and avoids deleting a file before its sidecar metadata has been applied.

Open Duplicate Finder and Start a Scan

1. Open Metadata Fixer and choose Plugins → Find Duplicates. After a Metadata Fixer processing run, you can also use the Find Duplicates button to open the finished output folder directly.
2. On the Duplicate Finder start screen, click Browse Folder….
3. Select the complete library folder described above. Choosing the folder starts the scan immediately.
4. On Analyzing photos for duplicates, watch the phase and file count. Cancel Scan stops the current scan and returns to folder selection.

The scanner first inventories the folder, then uses SHA-256 fingerprints where needed to find exact copies. It can show exact groups while visual analysis is still running. A blue Scanning badge (with a percentage when available) means results are still arriving; wait for the green Scan complete badge before making bulk decisions or using Auto Mark.

Exact vs Similar Results

The review screen has two tabs. The number beside each tab is the number of duplicate groups, not the number of files.

Exact matching applies to the files found in the folder, including videos. Visual similarity is an image analysis. Videos can appear in the review pane and be deleted, but the app does not play them there; it shows Video preview unavailable instead.

Strict, Balanced, and Broad Sensitivity

Sensitivity only changes the Similar tab. It does not turn exact matches into uncertain ones, and it does not change the Exact results. The current app calls the loosest option Broad (some people describe that behavior as “Loose”).

• Strict: the narrowest visual match. Use it for near-identical frames and a shorter, higher-confidence review list.
• Balanced: allows more visual difference. Use it when Strict misses light edits, recompression, or modest crops.
• Broad: the loosest setting and widest search. It can surface more useful candidates, but unrelated images with a similar composition are more likely to share a group. Review every file carefully.

Choose a value from the Sensitivity menu on the Similar tab. The app immediately re-analyzes the existing scan at the new threshold; the small spinner shows that work is in progress. If the result screen says No duplicates found, the same menu appears there with a Re-analyze with new threshold button. A sensible sequence is Strict, then Balanced, then Broad only if you still expect missing matches.

How to Review and Mark Duplicate Files

All files begin marked KEEP. Finding a duplicate does not silently queue it for deletion. Select a group in the left column; each row shows its first thumbnail, file count, total size, and how many files are currently marked to delete. The large pane shows the selected image, its relative path, and its size. Click a thumbnail to preview a different file.

• Green KEEP / red DEL: the label and border show the current decision for each thumbnail.
• Unselect: marks the previewed KEEP file for deletion. The label changes to DEL.
• Select to Keep: removes the deletion mark from a DEL file and returns it to KEEP.
• Space: toggles the previewed file between KEEP and DEL.
• Arrow Left / Right: moves between files in the current group.
• Arrow Up / Down: moves between duplicate groups.
• Previous files / Next files: appears for unusually large groups and pages through their files.
• Previous / Next beside the tab bar: pages through result groups when a category contains more than one page.

Duplicate Finder will not let you mark every file in a group for deletion; at least one copy must remain. Path matters more than thumbnail appearance for exact copies. In a Takeout cleanup, for example, you may prefer the copy in a year folder over the copy in an album folder—or the reverse if preserving that album layout matters more.

Use Auto Mark Without Giving Up the Final Decision

Auto Mark chooses one keeper in each exact and similar group after scanning completes. It changes KEEP/DEL marks only. It never deletes files by itself.

In the Auto Mark dialog, Folder priority lets you add folders and move them up or down. Copies in a higher-priority folder win before later rules are considered. The Tie-breaker rules are applied from top to bottom, with later enabled rules breaking ties. Drag the handle—or focus it and use the arrow keys—to reorder rules; use the checkbox to enable or disable a rule; use its menu to choose the preference.

The defaults favor a larger file, larger dimensions, an earlier capture time, and a file with GPS data. Click Apply Auto Mark, wait while metadata is read, and then review the resulting red DEL marks—especially every Similar group. Cancel or the close button leaves the dialog without applying its current configuration. Extremely large groups may be left unchanged so they can be handled manually.

Delete Selected vs Delete Now

• Delete Selected (n): removes every file currently marked DEL. The footer shows the estimated space it will free. A confirmation dialog repeats the file count and space; Cancel backs out, while Delete n Files permanently removes them.
• Delete Now: permanently removes only the currently previewed file, immediately. The Delete keyboard key does the same thing. There is no batch confirmation for this action.

After deletion, the result groups update. If a file was moved or deleted outside Duplicate Finder, the app can remove it from the displayed results and show an orange “no longer on disk” notice. Click Rescan there when the folder has changed enough that the stored result is no longer trustworthy.

Recent Scans, Reopening Results, and Re-scanning

The folder-selection screen lists recent successful scans with the folder path, completion time, and file count. Clicking a row reopens its saved results quickly; it does not inventory the folder again. Click the row's Re-scan button when you want a completely fresh scan of that folder. Use the review screen's ← Back button to return to folder selection.

Re-analyze and Re-scan solve different problems. Re-analyze changes only the Similar sensitivity for the stored scan. Re-scan is needed after adding, moving, renaming, editing, or externally deleting files. Saved results are a convenience, not a snapshot or backup of the library.

Scanning an External Drive Safely

• Connect and unlock the drive before opening a saved scan.
• Make sure the drive is writable if you intend to delete duplicates.
• Reconnect it at the same drive letter on Windows or the same mounted path on macOS before using stored results.
• Do not disconnect, eject, or let the drive sleep during scanning or deletion.
• If the contents changed while disconnected, use Re-scan instead of trusting the cached groups.

Duplicate Finder preserves recent scan history when a recognized external volume is temporarily unavailable, so a disconnected drive may still appear in the list. That does not mean its files are accessible. Reconnect it first.

A Safe Whole-Library Workflow

1. Keep the original export or another full backup untouched.
2. Finish metadata repair, then select the single parent folder containing the processed library.
3. Wait for Scan complete.
4. Review Exact groups first and mark unwanted folder copies.
5. Review Similar groups on Strict, then widen to Balanced or Broad only if needed.
6. Optionally apply Auto Mark, then inspect its choices before deleting.
7. Use Delete Selected and read the confirmation count. Avoid Delete Now until you are comfortable with the review pane.
8. Open the cleaned library in its destination photo app and check dates, albums, Live Photos, videos, and a sample from each year before removing the backup.

Frequently Asked Questions