dupefind

dupefind is a lightweight, zero‑dependency Python script that helps you locate duplicate files in a given directory. It works by hashing each file’s contents (SHA‑256) and grouping files that share the same hash.

Features

• Single‑file, no external libraries required.
• Recursive scan with optional depth limit.
• Human‑readable output (list of duplicate groups).
• Safe: read‑only operation, no files are modified or deleted.

Installation

# Clone the repository (or download dupefind.py directly)
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/dupefind.git
cd dupefind

Or simply copy the dupefind.py file into a directory of your choice and ensure it is executable.

Usage

python3 dupefind.py [options] <target_directory>

Options

• -d, --max-depth N – Limit recursion depth to N levels (default: unlimited).
• -v, --verbose – Print progress information while scanning.
• -h, --help – Show help message and exit.

Example

# Find duplicates under the current folder, showing progress
python3 dupefind.py -v .

# Limit search to 2 directory levels
python3 dupefind.py -d 2 /path/to/data

Output

The script prints groups of duplicate files, each group separated by a blank line:

Duplicate group (hash: a3f5…):
    ./photos/img1.jpg
    ./backup/img1_copy.jpg

Duplicate group (hash: f9c2…):
    ./docs/report.pdf
    ./archive/old/report_backup.pdf

If no duplicates are found, it prints No duplicate files detected..

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests. Keep the project tiny and dependency‑free!