Getting started & troubleshooting

Exact matching compares file contents, not filenames. Different compression, metadata or formats can make two versions different files. Use a broader Detection preset to review similar photos. Exact video copies are always detected; similar-video matching is an optional setting under Settings → Deduplicate and stays review-only.

Review a group and mark the files you want to remove. The action becomes available when the reviewed plan contains selected files. Check the final selection before approving it; similar-looking files are not necessarily identical.

Close any editor or sync process changing the folder, scan again and review the updated group. Chronoframe rechecks planned mutations by content. A changed file, pair or sidecar is preserved rather than removed using a stale plan.

Check that you are using the Apple Account that purchased the lifetime unlock, or the account receiving its Family Sharing access. Connect to the internet and choose Restore Purchases in Settings. Don’t buy again to troubleshoot missing access. If restoring still fails, contact support with the exact message shown.

You can keep scanning, previewing, reviewing and inspecting History without a purchase. The lifetime unlock lets you organize and move more duplicates to Trash. Supported Revert operations remain available without an unlock and refund the allowance for work successfully undone.

Use the app’s folder picker to choose the source or destination again. If History asks you to reconnect an archive, select that same archive folder. For a destination, check that the drive is writable and has enough free space for new copies. Your source and destination must be separate folders, with neither inside the other.

Check that the drive appears in Finder. Reconnect it and unlock it if it is encrypted, then choose the folder in Chronoframe. Reconnect the same drive before trying to resume or inspect its History.

Download originals locally before scanning a cloud folder. Apple Photos import can request iCloud-only originals through Apple, which needs a network connection and temporary local space. Cloud synchronization can also change files while you work; local or external drives are usually simpler destinations.

Reconnect and unlock the destination drive, reopen Chronoframe and inspect Organize → History before retrying. The app reconciles recorded work and may offer to resume pending copies. A run can show Needs Drive, Trash Location Unverified or Manual Recovery Needed while more evidence or access is needed.

Keep the destination’s .organize_cache.db, .organize_logs/ and .organize_log.txt while work is active or interrupted. They can contain History, recovery and Revert evidence. Source originals stay untouched.

Let the active Chronoframe operation finish before starting another one on the same destination. The app, command-line tool and system actions share a destination lock. Concurrent use of a network destination from multiple Macs is unsupported.

Open Organize → History and select the run. For supported organize transfers, Revert removes only the copies recorded in that run whose contents still match; it does not remove files that were already at the destination. Dedupe restore needs the recorded items to remain in Trash with matching contents. It cannot recover an emptied Trash.

Supported reorganize runs can also offer Revert. Review the operation and its recovery conditions in History. Read about safety and recovery.

Large libraries and slower drives take longer because the app reads metadata and file contents to build the plan. Keep the drive connected and watch the app’s reported progress. If it reports a failure or appears stuck, contact support with the message and what you were doing.