About czkawka.net
An independent resource dedicated to Czkawka, the open-source file cleanup tool built in Rust.
What is Czkawka?
Czkawka (pronounced roughly “chkavka” — it means “hiccup” in Polish) is an open-source application that finds and removes unnecessary files from your computer. Duplicate files, empty folders, similar images, broken symlinks, temporary files, videos that look nearly identical — Czkawka can track all of them down.
The software is written in Rust, which makes it fast. Genuinely fast. Users on Reddit regularly mention that it processes large file collections in a fraction of the time that older tools like dupeGuru or FSlint need. If you have a few terabytes of photos, downloads, or project backups scattered across drives, Czkawka will chew through them quickly.
It runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD. On Linux, you can install it through Flatpak, and there are AppImage builds available too.
The story behind Czkawka
The project starts
A developer going by qarmin on GitHub published the first version of Czkawka in late 2020. The motivation was straightforward: FSlint, the popular Linux duplicate finder, had been abandoned, and nothing else combined speed with a broad feature set. So qarmin wrote one from scratch in Rust.
Rapid feature growth
The project picked up attention quickly, especially in the Linux and DataHoarder communities on Reddit. Over this period, qarmin added similar-image detection (using perceptual hashing), similar-video scanning, broken-file detection, and a CLI version for automation and scripting. The GTK-based GUI matured into something practical and reliable.
Krokiet and broader adoption
qarmin introduced Krokiet, a second GUI frontend built with the Slint framework. Krokiet offers a more modern look and supports runtime light/dark theme switching. The core engine stayed the same — Krokiet is just an alternative way to interact with it. By this point Czkawka had been featured on Hacker News multiple times and had accumulated thousands of GitHub stars.
Version 10 and 11
Version 10 arrived in August 2025, followed by version 11.0.1 in February 2026. These releases brought performance improvements, GTK4 migration, and better handling of large scan results. The project continues to be actively maintained by qarmin.
What it actually does
Czkawka is not just a duplicate finder. It bundles ten different cleanup tools into one application:
Finds duplicates by name, size, or full hash comparison.
Detects and removes empty directory trees that accumulate over time.
Uses perceptual hashing to find images that look alike, even at different resolutions.
Compares video files frame-by-frame to identify near-duplicates.
Scans for corrupted files that can no longer be opened properly.
Finds files whose extension does not match their actual content type.
Locates zero-byte files scattered across your drives.
Cleans up system temp files and leftover cache data.
Finds symbolic links that point to files or folders that no longer exist.
Compares audio files to find duplicates or near-duplicates in your music library.
The speed comes from Rust. The program uses efficient hashing algorithms and can scan millions of files without choking on memory. For large collections, it is noticeably faster than Python-based alternatives like dupeGuru.
Who built it
Czkawka is a solo project by qarmin, a developer active on GitHub. There is no company behind it, no VC funding, no paid team. It is an open-source project maintained by one person who writes good Rust code and responds to issues.
The GTK GUI and CLI are released under the MIT License, which means you can use and modify the code freely. The newer Krokiet GUI uses GPL-3.0. Image assets use CC BY 4.0.
qarmin has explicitly stated that there is no official website for Czkawka. The GitHub repository is the only authoritative source for downloads and documentation. This is worth remembering when you see third-party download sites offering Czkawka — always get it from GitHub.
Why people use it
Most people find Czkawka when their drives are getting full and they suspect they have a lot of duplicate files. The software is popular among data hoarders, photographers with large image libraries, and Linux users who want a modern replacement for the long-dead FSlint.
The community around Czkawka is small but enthusiastic. You will find it recommended regularly in r/linux, r/DataHoarder, and r/opensource. The most common praise: it is fast, it is free, it is not spyware, and it actually works. People also appreciate that it has a CLI version, which makes it easy to script automated cleanup tasks on servers or NAS devices.
Compared to commercial alternatives like Duplicate Cleaner, Czkawka does more (similar images, similar videos, broken files) while costing nothing. Compared to AllDup, it runs on Linux and macOS too. And compared to dupeGuru, it handles large scans without slowing to a crawl.
About this website
czkawka.net is an independent, fan-made resource. We are not affiliated with qarmin or the official Czkawka project in any way.
This site exists to help users find accurate information about Czkawka: what it does, how to use it, where to download it safely. All download links on this site point to the official GitHub releases. We do not host, modify, or redistribute the software.
We respect the developers and their work. If you find Czkawka useful, consider starring the project on GitHub or contributing to its development.
Get in touch
Have a question or found something wrong on this site? Head over to our Contact page.
For help with Czkawka itself — bug reports, feature requests, or usage questions — the right place is the GitHub Issues page.