MacPaw’s Gemini: The Duplicate Finder has a very clean, user-friendly interface. When you first launch the app, you’re greeted by a simple window inviting you to drag the folder you want to search onto the window.
As soon as you drag a folder onto the Gemini window, Gemini goes to work finding duplicate files. As it works, it displays a variety of witty quips about what it’s doing, until it finishing scanning the folder and tells you how much space it’s found in duplicate files.
Selecting which folder to scan is as easy as drag and drop
After you click “Show Results,” Gemini shows you which files it found duplicated within that folder. If you use “Auto Select All Files,” Gemini will automatically select the files it detects should be deleted.
The scan results show just how bad your hoarding is for that folder…
Before deleting anything, Gemini gives you an opportunity to stop deleting particular files. Simply click the X, and the file is put back and is safe from deletion.
Confirming which files to delete
When you’re ready to delete the files, click “Remove,” and Gemini will go to work deleting the files. The paper shredder theme is cute, here, as you can watch the strips of your files drop off the screen and into the Trash. Here, too, Gemini gives you one last chance to prevent deleting important files: rather than completely deleting the files, it puts them into the Trash, where you can restore them if you have a change of heart.
Shredding duplicate files
The Good
Gemini: The Duplicate Finder does an excellent job of weeding through your files and finding duplicates. The algorithms it uses pick up on more than just the file name and file size, so it will find duplicate files even if they have completely different file names. It also entertains you as it works, from the beautiful interface to the funny quips it displays while it scans through your files.
In my testing, I found the auto-select algorithm to be pretty effective at sorting through documents, pictures, videos and music files to find duplicates.
Finally, when Gemini first launched on the Mac App Store, it would send launch reports to a remote server without any real explanation of this behavior to the user. As of version 1.0.2, however, those launch reports have been disabled. I verified, using network traces, that the app does not “phone home” at any point while it’s running. After you’ve deleted files, though, you have the option to Tweet about your experience.
The Bad
I wish there was a way to exclude a folder from the scan and results. If there’s a folder inside my Downloads folder that has a number of duplicates that I need to keep, for whatever reason, there’s no way to just put that entire folder back and save it from deletion. I have to click each individual file, which can get tiresome.
Would I Recommend It?
Yes, even with the limitations, it’s a solid performer for saving disk space. At US$9.99, it’s not the cheapest utility in the App Store, but considering the savings you could net in SSD storage space, I’d say it’s well worth the cost.
System Requirements
OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor. Mac App Store only.