DupScan Features
DupScan is a native macOS duplicate file finder built with SwiftUI and optimized for Apple Silicon. Every feature is designed for speed, accuracy, and safety.
How Does DupScan Scan Your Entire Mac for Duplicates?
DupScan provides a one-click "Scan Entire Mac" button that remembers folder permissions for instant re-scanning. Priority scanning processes Downloads, Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Movies, and Music first so duplicates appear within seconds.
- One-click full Mac scan or selective folder/disk scanning
- Smart priority scanning — high-value folders are processed first
- Real-time progress showing live file count during enumeration and live duplicate count during detection
- Cancel scanning anytime without losing already-found results
- Security-scoped bookmarks remember folder access across launches
How Does DupScan Detect Duplicates with 100% Accuracy?
DupScan uses SHA256 cryptographic hashing via Apple CryptoKit to identify exact byte-for-byte duplicates with zero false positives. A two-pass optimization scans a 4KB partial hash first, then verifies candidates with a full-file hash.
- SHA256 hashing via CryptoKit — hardware-accelerated on Apple Silicon
- Two-pass optimization: quick 4KB partial hash filters candidates before full-file hashing
- Parallel processing uses all CPU cores for maximum speed
- Memory-efficient: reads large files in 1MB chunks
- Cross-folder detection finds duplicates across your entire filesystem
What View Modes Does DupScan Offer?
DupScan provides two view modes for reviewing duplicates. Grid view displays visual cards with file thumbnails side-by-side, KEEP/DELETE badges, and file details. List view shows compact expandable rows with paths, dates, and sizes.
- Grid view: visual cards with QuickLook thumbnails, KEEP/DELETE badges
- List view: compact expandable rows — click to see all copies with paths and dates
- View preference remembered across sessions
- QuickLook thumbnails provide native file previews for all file types
How Does Smart Filtering Work in DupScan?
DupScan lets you instantly filter results by file extension, filename, or entire file category. Excluded files are automatically protected from Auto-Select, preventing accidental deletion of important file types.
- Text filter: type any file extension (mp3, pdf, mov) or filename to filter instantly
- Category exclusion: Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Archives, Developer, Other
- Extension exclusion: 21 common extensions as one-click chips, plus custom extension input
- Excluded files are protected from Auto-Select — cannot be accidentally deleted
- All exclusion preferences persist across sessions
How Does DupScan Protect System Files from Deletion?
DupScan automatically protects system directories including /System, /Library, /usr, /bin, /sbin, /private, and ~/Library. Files inside .app bundles and system file types like .framework and .dylib are also protected and cannot be selected.
- System directories automatically protected: /System, /Library, /usr, /bin, /sbin, /private
- User library (~/Library) is protected
- Files inside .app bundles are protected
- System file types protected: .app, .framework, .dylib, .kext, .plugin, .bundle
- Protected files show a shield icon and "PROTECTED" label
- Cannot be clicked, selected, or auto-selected for deletion
What Is the Auto-Select Feature?
DupScan Auto-Select marks duplicates for deletion with one click, keeping the newest copy of each file and selecting older copies for removal. Auto-Select respects exclusion filters and protected paths, operating only on visible and unprotected groups.
- One click to mark all duplicates for deletion
- Keeps the newest copy, selects older copies for removal
- Respects exclusion filters — only operates on visible groups
- Respects protected paths — never selects system files
- Deselect All button to reset all selections
What Is the Large Files Feature?
DupScan identifies the 100 largest files found during a scan and displays them with size-relative bar visualizations and thumbnails. Large files can be individually selected and trashed to reclaim significant disk space quickly.
- Shows the 100 largest files found during scan
- File size bar visualization relative to the biggest file
- Thumbnails for visual identification
- Select and trash individual large files
- Right-click to reveal any file in Finder
How Does History and Restore Work?
DupScan records every file trashed through the app in a persistent History tab. Each entry shows the filename, original path, file size, and deletion date. One-click restore puts files back in their original location if they are still in Trash.
- Every trashed file is recorded with filename, original path, size, and date
- History persists across app launches (stored locally)
- One-click restore puts the file back in its original location
- Status indicator shows "still in Trash" vs "Emptied"
- Summary: total files trashed, total space recovered, count of restorable files
What Keyboard Shortcuts Does DupScan Support?
DupScan provides keyboard shortcuts for every major action including scanning, tab navigation, auto-select, and deletion. All shortcuts are accessible from the menu bar and a cheat sheet is available in the Help menu.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+1 | Start tab |
Cmd+2 | Duplicates tab |
Cmd+3 | Large Files tab |
Cmd+4 | History tab |
Cmd+N | New Scan |
Cmd+Shift+N | Scan Entire Mac |
Cmd+Shift+A | Auto-Select Duplicates |
Cmd+Shift+D | Deselect All |
Cmd+Delete | Trash Selected |
DupScan uses SHA256 hashing through Apple's CryptoKit framework, which is hardware-accelerated on Apple Silicon Macs. This cryptographic approach guarantees that only exact byte-for-byte duplicates are identified, eliminating false positives entirely. Learn more about how SHA256 file hashing works and why it matters for duplicate detection accuracy.
Duplicate files are one of the biggest contributors to wasted disk space on Mac. Our complete guide to finding duplicate files on Mac walks through every method, from built-in tools to DupScan's automated approach.
See DupScan in action
Download DupScan free and scan your Mac for duplicates. Upgrade to Pro for $9.99 to start cleaning.
Coming Soon to Mac App Store