Guide

Find and remove duplicate photos with Claude on a Mac

Camera imports, AirDrops and “copy of copy” folders add up. Claude can find the identical ones and clean them up with you in the loop.

Step 1: find them

With Desktop Steward installed, press + → Connectors → Add from Desktop Steward → “Find duplicate photos”, or type:

Find duplicate files in my Pictures, focusing on photos. Show groups and how much space could be freed.

Claude compares sizes and then checksums, so only byte-for-byte identical files count. It shows groups like “4.2 MB × 3: IMG_2031.jpg in Pictures/2025, Downloads, Desktop/old” and the total you could free.

Step 2: decide what to keep

Ask Claude to recommend which copy to keep in each group, for example the one inside the best-named folder, and to leave the rest for deletion. Check the list. Similar-looking photos that are not identical are never grouped, so burst shots stay safe.

Step 3: delete with a net under you

Delete the extra copies, keep the ones you recommended.

A window opens on your Mac: “Delete 37 items? … Kept for 7 days and can be undone.” Click Allow. The files move to Desktop Steward's holding area, not straight to the Trash.

Changed your mind a day later? Say “undo” and the copies come back to exactly where they were.

By default Claude may only change files in Documents/AI Workspace and Downloads. To delete duplicates inside Pictures, add Pictures to “Folders Claude may change” in the extension settings first.

Try it with Desktop Steward

Free for Claude Desktop on Mac. Asks before anything risky, undo for everything.

Download for Mac