How to Use PowerShell to Find Duplicate Files in Folders: Detailed Guide

Duplicate files take up storage space and can make it harder to locate the files you need. Luckily, there are several ways to find and remove them on your computer. Using PowerShell is one of them.

In this article, I will show you detailed steps to use PowerShel to find and delete duplicate files folders. I tested this method, and it really worked.

 Cisdem Duplicate Finder

Not Comfortable with PowerShell? Try This

• Accurately identify duplicate images, videos, audio files, and all other files
• Detect similar images too
• Support Windows PC, Mac, external storage devices, cloud drives, and more
• Find duplicate files in folders, iTunes, and Mac's Photos
• Let you view duplicates in 3 ways, with side-by-side photo previews
• Automatically select all but one file for removal in each group of duplicates, enabling you to delete all duplicates at once
• Let you adjust selections manually or choose from rules (e.g., Select Newest)
• Easy to use for everyone

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later GET IT ON Google Play Download on the App Store

Well, what is PowerShell?

PowerShell, as you may have known, is a tool by Microsoft that can help users do many tasks. It can be considered a command-line tool if you like. In this tool, users can use scripts to make many tasks easier, for example, managing files, sending emails, and more.

You can use PowerShell to find duplicate files in folders by comparing their hashes. Then, take appropriate actions as needed, for example, letting PowerShell automatically delete duplicates for you, or manually delete duplicates from folders one by one.

Pros and cons of using PowerShell to find duplicate files

The PowerShell method has the following advantages and disadvantages.

How to find and delete duplicate files in folders with PowerShell

1. Open PowerShell on your Windows computer. You can search for “PowerShell" in the start menu and run it as administrator.

2. And, well, now you can use the cd (which means change directory) command to change the current directory (can be considered a path or folder) into the location where you want to scan for duplicates. For example, to find duplicates in the "Downloads" folder, you can use the following thing below:

cd C:\Users\YourUsername\ Downloads

Then press Enter on your keyboard.

3. Run the following command to count the hash value of each file in this folder to find duplicate files:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-FileHash | Group-Object -Property Hash | Where-Object { $_.Count -gt 1 } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Group | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path

Press Enter. Wait for the command execution to complete. This may take some time, depending on the number and size of files in the folder. Then it will group files in this folder by their hash.

4. Now you can run the following command to remove all files except the first one from each group of duplicates:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-FileHash | Group-Object -Property Hash | Where-Object { $_.Count -gt 1 } | foreach {

    $group = $_.Group | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path

    $group | Select-Object -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -Force

}

Press Enter. Go back to the folder that had duplicate files before, and you will find that all duplicates are removed.

An easy alternative way to find and remove duplicate files in folders

In fact, using PowerShell can help you quickly and accurately find duplicate files in folders, but the premise is that you are familiar with this tool. For most users, directly using third-party duplicate finder tool is the most efficient way. Cisdem Duplicate Finder is a reliable one.

Compared with PowerShell, this tool has several advantages.

• Allow you to scan one or multiple folders at once
• Accurately identify duplicate files by comparing both files' hash values and sizes
• Divide the found duplicate files into categories: images, music, documents, videos, etc.
• Offer 3 preview modes, including side-by-side one
• Enable you to view detailed information of the files, such as path and size
• Automatically select duplicate files for you to delete with 1 click
• Provide 8 selection rules to help you mass select duplicates
• Also allow you to manually choose duplicate files to remove
• Send deleted duplicates to the Recycle Bin by default (and also allow you to move them to a folder, or perform permanent deletions)

Let’s see the easy steps on how to use this tool to find duplicate files in folders:

1. Download and install Cisdem Duplicate Finder on your computer.

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later

2. Click the plus icon on the main window. Add one or more folders to scan.

Or directly drag and drop folders to this tool.

3. It scans fast. And then displays a list of duplicate files that were found. This tool will auto-select duplicates for you to remove. You can directly delete them with 1-click. Or preview the files before removing.

You can also change the preview mode to view files’ details.

4. The selection rules is for helping you mass select duplicate files in folders to remove. Such as select by priority, select oldest, largest, etc.

5. After checking the selected duplicate files, click on Delete on the bottom right corner.

FAQs

Does Windows have a duplicate file finder?

No. Windows doesn't come with such a tool. Although PowerShell can be used for this purpose, it's not a good idea to refer to it as a duplicate finder.

How do I remove duplicate files using PowerShell?

As with finding duplicate files using PowerShell, you need to run a dedicated script, as shared in step 4 above.

Conclusion

You can use PowerShell to find duplicate files in folders. I’ve showed you detailed steps about how to use it to search and delete duplicate files with different names but same contents in this article. In addition to PowerShell, some other professional duplicate finder tools also allow you to automatically find and remove duplicate files in folders quickly and easily. Whichever method you choose, remember to regularly clean up duplicate files to keep your files organized and free up computer storage space.