Media library/Review
Duplicate detection
How Clipido finds exact duplicate files after upload, where duplicates appear, and what it does not match.
Use this article to understand how Clipido finds duplicate files, where you see them after upload, and what duplicate detection does not flag.
Duplicate detection finds files with "identical content": the same bytes uploaded more than once. It runs automatically after upload processing finishes. It is separate from upload approval and from the "Similar" tab in file preview, which finds visually alike images instead.
What counts as a duplicate
Clipido hashes each file's original bytes after processing. When two or more files in your workspace share the same hash, they form a duplicate set.
Duplicate detection matches "exact file content only". Two different exports of the same photo, or a crop and the original, are not flagged as duplicates unless the file bytes are identical.
Each duplicate set needs at least "2" copies. A single uploaded file with no byte-for-byte match elsewhere is not a duplicate.
When duplicate detection runs
Duplicate detection starts after upload processing completes, including preview generation. While processing runs, the upload timeline shows "Duplicate detection" with a progress indicator.
When scanning finishes, the timeline updates to one of:
- "No duplicates found"
- "1 duplicate detected"
- "N duplicates detected"
If duplicates are found, a Review button appears on that timeline step.
Duplicate detection does not run on migration uploads.
Where duplicate sets can include files from
Duplicate detection searches your "whole workspace", not just the gallery or upload zone where a file was uploaded.
A duplicate set can include copies from different upload zones, different upload batches, or uploads submitted at different times, as long as the file bytes match and each copy is in a "submitted" upload.
Draft uploads that have not been submitted yet are not included.
Where to review duplicates
When an upload has duplicates, you can open the resolver from:
- The upload timeline: click Review on the "Duplicate detection" step.
- "Review → Duplicates" in the sidebar, then open the upload row.
The "Duplicates" tab sits next to Uploads under Review. The tab badge shows how many "upload batches" still have unresolved duplicates, not how many duplicate files exist.
On the duplicates overview, stat cards summarize your workspace:
- "Total duplicates left": files still in unresolved sets
- "Unique duplicates left": sets to review, one keeper each
- "Storage freed": space reclaimed from resolutions so far
- "Storage left to recover": space you can reclaim by resolving every set
What duplicate detection does not do
Duplicate detection does not find visually similar images. Use the "Similar" tab in file preview when you want lookalikes in the current gallery, not byte-for-byte copies.
Duplicate detection does not approve or deny uploads. Auto-approve and manual review settings do not skip duplicate checks.
Duplicate detection does not remove files on its own. Nothing is archived until a reviewer resolves the set and clicks "Apply".
Who can review duplicates
In the admin app, only "club admins" can Open Review → Duplicates and resolve sets.
Workspace members can review duplicates in a shared workspace when "Workspace review" is enabled on your plan and review is turned on for that workspace with upload zones selected.
There is no separate plan add-on for duplicate detection itself.