[Feature Request] Duplicate Bookmark Detection

[Gen-X-Jim]

Feature Idea: Duplicate Bookmark Detection & Cleanup

This proposal outlines a new feature to detect and manage duplicate or near-duplicate bookmarks in Faved. The goal is to help users keep their collections clean and avoid clutter that arises from re-bookmarking the same sites over time or importing bookmarks from multiple sources.

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Problem Statement

Over time, it’s easy to accumulate duplicate bookmarks in Faved:

• A site’s design or branding changes, so it looks “new,” and the user bookmarks it again without realizing it was already saved.
• A user hasn’t visited a site in a long time and forgets they previously bookmarked it.
• When importing bookmarks from multiple browsers or devices, the same URLs may exist in more than one source. In these cases, Faved currently creates separate bookmarks for each occurrence.

This leads to several issues:

• Visual clutter: The bookmark list becomes longer and harder to scan.
• Tag fragmentation: Tags for the same site may be spread across multiple entries.
• Redundant maintenance: Users may clean up or retag one copy but overlook the duplicates.

Right now, the only way to deal with duplicates is to manually scan and compare titles/URLs, which doesn’t scale for large collections or multiple imports.

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Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is to introduce duplicate detection logic and a dedicated workflow for reviewing and resolving duplicates.

1. Duplicate Detection Rules

Faved could identify potential duplicates using a combination of rules:

• Exact URL match
  Bookmarks with identical URLs (including protocol and path) are treated as definite duplicates.

• Normalized URL match
  Optionally, Faved could normalize URLs before comparison, for example:

  • Ignore trailing slashes (/).
  • Ignore common tracking/query parameters (e.g., utm_*, fbclid, etc.).
  • Treat http:// and https:// as equivalent when appropriate.
  • Treat www.example.com and example.com as equivalent (ideally configurable).

• Near-duplicate suggestions (optional/advanced)
  As a future enhancement, Faved could suggest “possible duplicates” based on:

  • Same domain and very similar title.
  • Same canonical URL (if available via metadata).

2. Duplicate Review UI

A dedicated Duplicates view or section could present detected duplicates in groups:

• Each duplicate group shows:
  • The shared URL (or normalized key).
  • A list of all bookmark entries that match it (titles, tags, dates, etc.).

Users can quickly see which version is older/newer, how tags differ, and whether notes are attached.

Within each group, provide actions such as:

• Merge (recommended action)
• Keep all (dismiss the group without change)
• Delete selected (remove one or more entries in the group)

3. Merge Behavior

When merging duplicates, Faved should aim to preserve as much user data as possible:

• Tags
  Combine tags from all duplicates (union of tags).

• Notes/description
  Keep the primary bookmark’s notes and optionally:

  • Append other notes below, or
  • Let the user choose which note to keep if there are conflicts.

• Metadata

  • Prefer the oldest “created at” date to reflect when the bookmark was first saved.
  • Optionally show which source (manual vs. import) the surviving bookmark came from.

The result is a single consolidated bookmark that retains all useful metadata.

4. Behavior During Import

To prevent duplicates from proliferating during imports:

• When importing, Faved should check each incoming bookmark against existing bookmarks using the same detection rules.
• Provide user-configurable options, for example:
  • Skip existing duplicates and keep the original.
  • Merge tags from import into the existing bookmark (preferred for organization).
  • Import anyway and allow duplicates (for users who want strict separation by source).

A simple summary at the end of import (e.g., “Imported 340 bookmarks, skipped 25 duplicates, merged 10”) would give users clarity on what happened.

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Benefits

• Cleaner Collections
  Users avoid growing piles of redundant bookmarks, making Faved easier to browse and maintain over the long term.

• Better Organization
  Tags, notes, and metadata are consolidated into a single authoritative bookmark per site, improving search results and tag-based filtering.

• Smoother Imports
  Users can confidently import from multiple browsers and devices without worrying about creating a mess of duplicates.

• Improved User Experience
  Reduces manual cleanup and “bookmark anxiety” (wondering if something is already saved), especially for users with large or frequently imported bookmark sets.

This feature would complement existing organization tools and make Faved especially attractive for power users who manage bookmarks across multiple browsers and devices.

[denho]

Thank you for this detailed and well-thought-out feature request! Duplicate bookmark detection is a common pain point for many users, especially those with large collections or who import bookmarks from multiple sources.

Currently, duplicate detection when adding a new bookmark is under development. But more advanced duplicate detection mechanisms, as those described in this request, could also be very handy. Breaking these down into smaller, incremental pieces could make it more manageable to carry out.

For now, I've marked this discussion as "In review" and will seriously consider implementing it in a future release. This also gives the community some time to chime in with additional ideas and edge cases.

[denho]

@Gen-X-Jim Duplicate detection was added in version 2.6.0. Now, when adding a new bookmark, it'll show a list of possible duplicates using normalized URLs and including items from the same domain.

Duplicate detection during import and on the existing bookmarks is still under consideration. This request will need more upvotes in order to get these prioritised.