Czkawka review: find duplicate files locally

Czkawka is a free, open-source duplicate file finder for people who want to clear space on a computer they already use.¹ The desktop window the project recommends is called Krokiet, and it shares Czkawka’s scanning engine.² The project says the app has no access to the internet and does not collect user information or statistics.¹

Last checked October 28, 2026.

At a glance

What it is: A free app that finds duplicate and leftover files on your computer. Krokiet is the current desktop window.¹²

Works on: Linux, Windows 10 and 11, Mac, and Android through the Cedinia app. The project also names FreeBSD. The FAQ says Mac builds cover Intel and Apple Silicon; the Krokiet files published with 12.0.2 are Apple Silicon builds.¹²⁴⁵⁸

Price: Free, with no ads. Donations are optional.¹

Licence: The command-line tool and the older GTK window are MIT. Krokiet and the Android app Cedinia are GPL-3.0-only.¹

Best for: People reviewing duplicate files on their own computer.

Official site: github.com/qarmin/czkawka (the project has no separate website)¹

What Czkawka does (and how it protects your privacy)

Czkawka groups matching files in folders you select. Duplicates can match by name, size or a hash, a short code calculated from the file’s contents.¹ The full hash covers the whole file, and it runs only after a quicker check has dropped files that cannot match.²

Similar pictures are matched by appearance, so a different resolution or a watermark can still count, including a JPEG and a WebP of the same scene.¹² Music can be compared from tags stored in the file, or by reading the audio.¹ Similar videos sample frames, and that tool needs ffmpeg, a separate program that reads video. Krokiet does not include it.²⁴

The FAQ says the app makes no network connections and has no telemetry, update checks or analytics.² Telemetry means automatic reports about how you use a program. A later scan reuses a cache of hashes, timestamps and sizes, not the files themselves.² Exif Remover strips Exif metadata from various file types.¹ Exif is extra detail stored inside a photo.

Key features of Czkawka

Duplicate files: Groups copies by name, size or a hash of the contents.¹
Similar images, videos and music: Matches pictures by look, videos by sampled frames, and music by tags or by the audio.¹²
Space and clutter: Lists empty folders, empty files, the biggest files and temporary files.¹
File health: Flags broken files, symbolic links that point nowhere, and extensions that do not match the contents.¹
Exif Remover: Removes Exif metadata from various file types.¹
Reference folders: A folder you mark as a reference is protected from deletion, so a downloads folder can be cleaned while a library stays.²
A faster second scan: Results are cached, so the next run over the same files should be much quicker.¹

Czkawka pros and cons

Pros

It is free and open source, and the project says it shows no ads and collects no statistics.¹
Krokiet’s pre-built files have no required extra libraries.⁴
A reference folder stays protected while copies elsewhere can be removed.²
Krokiet 12.0.2 was published on 9 September 2026. The FAQ describes Krokiet as actively developed.³²
You can move matches to the trash, and automatic selection keeps one file in each group.²

Cons

The project says version 12.0 is the last GTK release, that no further GTK binaries will be provided, and that people should move to Krokiet.³
There is no official website. The project says sites such as czkawka.net, czkawka.com and czawka.net are not official and may be unsafe.¹²
Similar videos need ffmpeg, which you install yourself.⁴
The Linux Flatpak is the older GTK app, frozen at version 10.0.0. There is no Krokiet Flatpak.⁶²
In Krokiet, the duplicate scan skips files smaller than 16 KB unless you lower that setting.²
Pre-built files target Windows 10 or newer, Mac, and Ubuntu 22.04 or newer (or another Linux with the same or newer libraries). iOS is not planned, and Cedinia is not in an app store.²⁴⁵

Is Czkawka safe and private?

The FAQ says Czkawka and Krokiet make no network connections, and have no telemetry, update checks or analytics.² It names the GitHub releases page and crates.io, a public package catalogue, as the actively maintained downloads, and says the author no longer maintains the Flathub package.² Rafał Mikrut publishes the work as qarmin. Flathub and his GitHub profile both show that name.⁶⁷

Settings and the cache stay on the computer. On Linux they are ~/.config/krokiet/ and ~/.cache/czkawka/. macOS uses a Library folder, and Windows uses a Qarmin folder in AppData.² The cache holds hashes, timestamps and sizes, not the files.² Automatic selection keeps one file in each group, and trash is a separate button from permanent delete.²

Some Windows antivirus tools flag the file. The FAQ calls that a known false positive for Rust binaries built with link-time optimization, and says the file is built in public from the open source.² A finished Krokiet or Cedinia app is GPL-3.0-only because it links the Slint interface toolkit. The scanner, the command-line tool and the older GTK window are MIT.¹² GPL-3.0-only adds conditions when a changed copy is shared.

How to get started with Czkawka

Open the GitHub releases page, the download source the project tells you to use.² The current release is 12.0.2, dated 9 September 2026.³
The 12.0.2 notes name these Krokiet files for a first try: windows_krokiet_on_windows_skia_opengl.exe or windows_krokiet_on_linux.exe on Windows, mac_krokiet_skia_vulkan_arm64 on a Mac, and linux_krokiet_x86_64 on Linux.³ The notes also name mac_krokiet_skia_vulkan_x86_64, but the files published with 12.0.2 do not include it. The Mac Krokiet files on that release are Apple Silicon builds, including mac_krokiet_arm64 and mac_krokiet_skia_vulkan_arm64.³⁸ If you are unsure which Windows file to pick, the FAQ says to start with windows_krokiet_on_linux.²
On Windows, run the file. If Defender stops it, the FAQ says to choose More info, then Run anyway.² On Linux, mark linux_krokiet_x86_64 as executable and start it. On a Mac, if the system says the file is from an unidentified developer, right-click it, choose Open, and confirm.²
Add the folders you want to check. Mark a library you must keep as a reference folder. Those files are shown for comparison and are protected from deletion.²
Choose Duplicates and run the scan. Files under 16 KB are skipped unless you lower the minimum size.² Read each group, then use Move to trash. Automatic selection leaves one copy in the group.²
For similar videos, install ffmpeg and start Krokiet again.² On Android, download cedinia.apk from the same releases page. It is not in an app store. Frame-based similar videos, corrupted-video detection, and video optimization are missing there because they require FFmpeg.⁵³

Who should use Czkawka (and who might prefer something else)

Czkawka suits people who keep photos, downloads and music on a computer they control, and who want to see copies before they delete anything. A command-line tool can run the same scan from a script.² Before a large delete, keep a backup. Vorta stores Borg backups from the desktop.

For a photo library with albums and tags, digiKam is the better fit, and Czkawka can still hunt the copies. On Android, Cedinia is the scanner.⁵ Aves Libre is a gallery for browsing pictures and their details. DupeGuru is another duplicate finder. The Czkawka README lists it and notes its many options.¹

Frequently asked questions

Is Czkawka free?

Yes. The project calls it free and open source, without ads, and asks for an optional donation.¹ Krokiet 12.0.2 was published on 9 September 2026.³

Is Czkawka safe?

The FAQ says Czkawka and Krokiet make no network connections and have no telemetry, update checks or analytics.² The cache stores hashes and file details, not a copy of the files, and lookalike websites are not official.²

Does Czkawka work on iPhone?

iOS is not planned.⁵ Android can use Cedinia, an APK from the GitHub releases page, not from F-Droid or Google Play.⁵ Desktop Krokiet runs on Linux, Windows 10 and 11, and Mac.⁴

What is Krokiet, and do I still need Czkawka?

Krokiet is the current window. The older GTK window uses the same scanner, and version 12.0 was its last release.²³ Install Krokiet. The shared scanner is still part of the Czkawka project.¹