Duplicate Files Counter

This Ruby application scans a specified directory to count and identify files with the same content. It efficiently handles large files and directories by comparing file contents using SHA-256 hashes.

How to Run the Application

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/andregit1/duplicate_files_counter.git

2. Navigate to the Directory

cd duplicate_files_counter

3. Run the Script

Use the command line to run the script:

ruby duplicate_file_counter.rb /path/to/directory

Replace /path/to/directory with the path of the directory you want to scan.

Explanation

1. calculate_file_hash

• Purpose: Computes a SHA-256 hash of a file’s content.
• Function: Reads the file in chunks to handle large files efficiently.

2. find_duplicate_files

• Purpose: Traverses the given directory recursively to find duplicate files.
• Function: Uses Find.find to traverse the directory and calculates the hash for each file, storing the count of each hash in a hash map.

3. display_largest_group

• Purpose: Finds the file content hash with the highest count.
• Function: Prints the hash and the number of files that share this hash.

4. Dynamic Directory Input

• Purpose: Makes the script flexible and reusable.
• Function: Takes the directory path as a command-line argument, allowing it to scan any directory without changing the code.

5. Real-time Loading Info

• Purpose: Provides feedback on the scanning progress.
• Function: Tracks and prints the progress of file scanning using total_files and processed_files.

6. Saving Results to File

• Purpose: Saves detailed scan results for later reference.
• Function:
  • Stores file paths for each hash in file_hash_details.
  • Writes detailed results to a .txt file with a timestamp.
  • Informs the user when the results are saved.

Example Output

After running the script, a file named duplicate_files_report_<timestamp>.txt will be created in the current directory, containing:

• A list of file hashes and their counts.
• The file paths of the duplicated files.