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Duplicates Command

The duplicates command helps you identify duplicate assets in your Immich library based on filename and timestamp.

Overview

This command scans your entire Immich library and groups assets that have identical:

  • Original filename
  • Local date/time

This is useful for finding:

  • Multiple uploads of the same photo
  • Photos that were accidentally imported multiple times
  • Duplicate files from different sources that have the same name and timestamp

Usage

immich-stack duplicates [flags]

Examples

Basic Usage

Find duplicates in your library:

immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key --api-url http://immich:2283

Include Archived Assets

immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key --with-archived

Multi-User Scan

Check duplicates for multiple users:

immich-stack duplicates --api-key "user1_key,user2_key"

With Debug Logging

Get detailed information during the scan:

immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key --log-level debug

Output

The command will output groups of duplicate assets. For example:

Duplicate group: IMG_1234.jpg|2024-01-15T10:30:00 (3 assets)
  - ID: abc123, FileName: IMG_1234.jpg, LocalDateTime: 2024-01-15T10:30:00
  - ID: def456, FileName: IMG_1234.jpg, LocalDateTime: 2024-01-15T10:30:00
  - ID: ghi789, FileName: IMG_1234.jpg, LocalDateTime: 2024-01-15T10:30:00

If no duplicates are found:

No duplicates found based on OriginalFileName and LocalDateTime.

Flags

The duplicates command inherits all global flags, particularly:

  • --api-key - Required for authentication
  • --api-url - Immich server URL
  • --with-archived - Include archived assets in the scan
  • --with-deleted - Include deleted assets in the scan
  • --log-level - Control verbosity of output

Use Cases

1. Pre-Cleanup Audit

Before running cleanup operations, identify duplicates:

# First, find duplicates
immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key

# Then manually review and delete duplicates in Immich UI

2. Regular Maintenance

Run periodically to check for new duplicates:

# Add to a monthly maintenance script
immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key --log-level warn

3. Migration Verification

After migrating photos from another system:

# Check if migration created duplicates
immich-stack duplicates --api-key your_key --with-archived --with-deleted

Important Notes

  1. Read-Only Operation: This command only reports duplicates; it does not delete or modify any assets
  2. Exact Matching: Only assets with identical filename AND timestamp are considered duplicates
  3. Performance: For large libraries, this command may take several minutes to complete
  4. Stack-Aware: The command fetches stack information but duplicates are detected independently of stack membership

See Also