System Administration

Essential System Tools: Czkawka – data cleaner

Last Updated on May 28, 2022

Summary

Czkawka is a very useful utility that’s a lot more than merely a duplicate file finder. We like that the developer offers both a command-line and graphical tool. What makes the tool standout is that it’s extremely fast. Out of all the command-line tools we’ve tried, Czkawka is the fastest to complete a variety of tests.

The cache support makes second and further scans a lot faster than an initial scan (the cache is stored in ~/.cache/czkawka). There’s also the option to turn off cache functionality.

We have no idea how to pronounce Czkawka, a Polish word that means hiccup. Why hiccup as a name makes any sense is beyond us. Internally, we gave it the moniker ‘That Rust-based duplicate file finder with the crazy name”.

The design of the graphical user interface is not particularly well implemented. There’s definite improvement needed in this area. Functionality that we’d like added include file management capabilities other than just delete (moving selected files is planned for the next release). And previews are only currently available for image files.

Website: github.com/qarmin/czkawka
Support:
Developer: Rafał Mikrut
License: MIT License

Czkawka is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction / Installation
Page 2 – In Operation
Page 3 – Summary


All the essential tools in this series:

Essential System Tools
AlacrittyInnovative, hardware-accelerated terminal emulator
BleachBitSystem cleaning software. Quick and easy way to service your computer
bottomGraphical process/system monitor for the terminal
btop++Monitor usage and stats for CPU, memory, disks, network and processes
catfishVersatile file searching software
ClonezillaPartition and disk cloning software
CPU-XSystem profiler with both a GUI and text-based
CzkawkaFind duplicate files, big files, empty files, similar images, and much more
ddrescueData recovery tool, retrieving data from failing drives as safely as possible
dustMore intuitive version of du written in Rust
f3Detect and fix counterfeit flash storage
Fail2banBan hosts that cause multiple authentication errors
fdupesFind or delete duplicate files
FirejailRestrict the running environment of untrusted applications
GlancesCross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python
GPartedResize, copy, and move partitions without data
GreenWithEnvyNVIDIA graphics card utility
gtopSystem monitoring dashboard
gWakeOnLANTurn machines on through Wake On LAN
hyperfineCommand-line benchmarking tool
HyFetchSystem information tool written in Python
inxiCommand-line system information tool that's a time-saver for everyone
journalctlQuery and display messages from the journal
kmonManage Linux kernel modules with this text-based tool
KrusaderAdvanced, twin-panel (commander-style) file manager
NmapNetwork security tool that builds a "map" of the network
nmonSystems administrator, tuner, and benchmark tool
nnnPortable terminal file manager that's amazingly frugal
petSimple command-line snippet manager
PingnooGraphical representation for traceroute and ping output
ps_memAccurate reporting of software's memory consumption
SMCMulti-featured system monitor written in Python
TimeshiftReliable system restore tool
QDirStatQt-based directory statistics
QJournalctlGraphical User Interface for systemd’s journalctl
TLPMust-have tool for anyone running Linux on a notebook
UnisonConsole and graphical file synchronization software
VeraCryptStrong disk encryption software
VentoyCreate bootable USB drive for ISO, WIM, IMG, VHD(x), EFI files
WTFPersonal information dashboard for your terminal
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