Matchwell™
Photo DeduplicatorEvery duplicate found, nothing lost.
Years of imports, backups and shared albums leave the same photo three or four times over. Matchwell finds the copies, keeps the best one, and folds what the others know into it, so nothing you added is lost.
What Matchwell does
The same print scanned twice, a photo saved again as a smaller JPEG, a copy someone emailed back to you, an edited or black-and-white version: Matchwell groups them and shows you each group before anything changes.
In each group it keeps the copy with the most detail and merges the others' keywords, people, captions, titles, ratings, places and more into it. When two copies disagree, you choose. Nothing is ever deleted, and every run can be undone.
It comes two ways, with one license for both. The Windows & Mac app needs no Lightroom and moves the extra copies to a holding folder. The Lightroom Classic plug-in merges in the catalog and flags the extra copies as rejected.
Matchwell in 80 seconds
On screen
Features
Five levels of alike
Five buttons, each with its description: from exact copies, through the same picture saved again and lightly edited versions, to black-and-white and restored copies and very different versions of one shot. Start at 3 and adjust.
Sideways and mirrored copies
A scan saved the wrong way up still matches. Deep search also finds mirrored copies (a slide scanned from the wrong side) and copies cropped much tighter.
Keeps the best copy
The one with the most pixels, then camera raw over TIFF over PNG over HEIC or JPEG, then the larger file. Click Keep this one to choose another.
Merges what the others know
Keywords and people from every copy, plus any title, caption, rating, color label, GPS location or creator the kept copy lacks, and in Lightroom the other copies' collections.
You settle the conflicts
When two copies disagree, keep the kept copy's value, take another's, or combine them: captions joined, the highest rating, the earliest date.
Split a mixed group
When only some copies in a group are duplicates, mark the others Not a duplicate: their files are left alone, and two or more marked together make a group of their own.
Spread a big review out
Your review is saved as you go. Scroll one long list or go a screenful at a time, close part way and continue next time with your choices kept. Photos added since the scan are found and offered.
Keys and Stream Deck
Every action has a key: press ? to see them. A Stream Deck or other macro pad can run them too. Ready-made buttons come with Matchwell, one profile for the app and one for Lightroom: press ? and click Add Stream Deck buttons. In Lightroom you can give Matchwell's commands your own keys: click Keyboard shortcuts in Matchwell's window. The same window can give a key to another plug-in's menu item, such as Negative Lab Pro, by its name.
Quick on big collections
Thousands of photos take a few minutes the first time, and what Matchwell learns about each photo is remembered, so the next search is much faster.
How it works
In the app
- Choose one or more folders, or paste their paths.
- Set How alike and click Find duplicates.
- Check each group: which copy is kept, which keywords and people come along, and how each conflict is settled.
- Click Merge and move. The extra copies go to a holding folder, with a report listing every group.
In Lightroom Classic
- Choose Library > Plug-in Extras > Find duplicate photos.
- Pick the selected photos, the folders or collections shown, or the whole catalog, and click Find duplicates.
- Check the groups and click Merge. The extra copies are flagged as rejected and gathered in a collection for you to look over.
Step by step for every job: the Matchwell User Guide.
Requirements
- Windows
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). Nothing else to install: Python and the image libraries come with it.
- Mac
- A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.
- Lightroom Classic
- For the plug-in only. The app needs no Lightroom, just a current web browser (Edge, Chrome, Safari or Firefox).
- Files
- JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, PNG, DNG and camera raw files. Camera raw files are never written to: their merged details go into an .xmp sidecar.
Price and free trial
- Every feature works free for 21 days on each computer, with no watermark and no account. After that, Matchwell keeps working for 7 more days with a reminder; then finding duplicates still works, and merging needs a license key.
- One license is for one person on up to 2 computers, covers both the app and the Lightroom Classic plug-in, and includes complimentary updates within the major version (a version 1 key works for every 1.x release).
- Your key arrives by email. It is checked on your computer: no account or internet connection is needed to use Matchwell.
- Moving to a new computer? Click “Remove license from this computer” on the old one and enter your key on the new one.
- Matchwell is sold on its own and is not part of The Well Tools Bundle.
Windows may show “Windows protected your PC” the first time: click More info, then Run anyway. The Mac download is signed and checked by Apple: open it and double-click the Install app.
Lost your key? · License terms · Refund policy · Questions: info@thepictureorg.com
Questions
My antivirus or Windows blocked the download. Is it safe, and what do I do?
Matchwell is signed by The Picture Org LLC and is safe. Some antivirus programs (Norton, for example) flag any new download that few people have run yet, even a signed one, and the block goes away as more people install it. Windows SmartScreen (“Windows protected your PC”): click More info, then Run anyway. Norton: open Norton, go to Security > History, choose the entry for the download, and click Restore & exclude this file, then run it again. Microsoft Defender: open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Protection history, choose the entry, and click Actions > Allow on device. Other antivirus programs have a similar Restore or Allow choice in their quarantine or history. If you would rather not change a setting, email info@thepictureorg.com and we will send you a zip you can install by hand. We report every false alarm to the antivirus maker so it is cleared for everyone.
Does Matchwell delete photos?
Never. The app moves extra copies to a holding folder and Lightroom flags them as rejected. You delete them yourself when you're sure, and until then Undo puts everything back.
How does it choose which copy to keep?
The copy with the most pixels; at the same size, a camera raw file over a TIFF, a TIFF over a PNG, and those over a HEIC or JPEG; then the larger file, then the older one. You can pick another copy in any group.
What happens to the keywords and captions on the other copies?
They are merged into the kept copy. Each keyword and person is listed with a tick, so you can leave any off, and where two captions or dates differ you choose which to keep or combine them.
Will it group photos taken a moment apart?
Not at the default level. Level 5, Same shot, any version, can group photos taken a moment apart, so check those groups before merging.
What about a camera's RAW and JPEG pair?
They are left alone by default: a raw file and the JPEG the camera saved beside it are not counted as duplicates unless you turn that on.
Does it work on a NAS or network drive?
Yes. A photo moved to a folder on another drive or share is copied, checked and only then removed from where it was. A sidecar (.xmp) that can't move with its photo is reported, and searches skip a NAS's snapshot and recycle folders.
Can the kept copy end up in a different folder?
Yes. Each group has Where the kept copy ends up: leave it where it is (the default), move it to the folder of another copy in the group, or choose another folder. A rejected duplicate there with the same name is renamed “name (2)” so the kept copy takes its place.
Is Matchwell in the bundle?
No. Matchwell is sold on its own and is not part of The Well Tools Bundle.
Is anything sent from my computer?
Only a check for a newer version when Matchwell opens, which fetches a small version list and sends nothing about your computer, your photos or your license key. You can turn it off. If something goes wrong, Create an error log can send a report to us, but only after you have seen exactly what it holds and clicked Send.
How do updates work?
Matchwell tells you when a new version is out. Install now downloads it, checks that it carries The Picture Org's signature, and installs it, putting everything back if anything goes wrong. Installing it in the app or in Lightroom updates both. Updates within the major version are complimentary.
Does it work with Lightroom (the cloud version)?
No. Adobe lets plug-ins run only in Lightroom Classic. If you use the Lightroom app, use the Matchwell app on your photo folders instead.
Does it run on an Intel Mac?
No. Matchwell needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later).
More answers in the Matchwell User Guide, or email info@thepictureorg.com.
What's new
Version 1.6.29 7 November 2026
- The Keyboard shortcuts window can also give a key to another plug-in's menu item, such as Negative Lab Pro, by its name.
- Lightroom: reading the groups before the review, and opening a saved review, are much faster on large catalogs.
- Plug-in Manager: the same sections in the same order as every Picture Org app, with User Guide, Keyboard shortcuts and Other -well tools buttons.
- Plug-in Manager: the Updates box now shows each line of its message in full on Windows.