CardTriage

CardTriage helps you untangle overlapping camera-card backups. Choose the folder you want to sort and, optionally, an archive to compare it with. Review exact matches and new material before deciding whether to leave, copy or move anything.

Why I built it

I am Will Burrard-Lucas, a wildlife photographer. I arrived in Peru with cards that already held photographs I was not sure I had backed up. New work ended up mixed with old material across several card copies. I wanted to establish what matched an existing file without trusting filenames or risking a sole original.

CardTriage grew out of that problem.

See what overlaps

Select your source and archive independently, or scan the source for internal repeats without an archive. CardTriage compares file contents, not just names or dates. Scanning does not move files.

Review New material, Duplicates and Needs attention separately. Supported image previews, existing-copy paths and Finder reveal help you inspect a result. Export a readable report before organising. Completed checksums are cached locally, so restarting a stopped scan can reuse completed work.

Choose what happens next

Duplicates and new material each have independent Leave, Copy and Move choices. Copy new files to your archive while leaving the source intact, or separate duplicates into another folder. Review the plan before applying it.

Source folder structure is preserved at the destination. Files are checked again before sorting, and name clashes receive numbered suffixes instead of replacing existing files. Empty-folder cleanup is a separate, previewed action after sorting; it is not automatic.

Keep a record and a route back

Activity keeps sorting-session reports and undo records. Session Undo returns moved files to their original locations; copies created by the session are retained in a hidden recovery folder at the destination. Undo depends on the relevant files, journals, drives and folder permissions remaining available and unchanged. Empty-folder cleanup has no standalone Undo.

Keep an independent backup before moving files. CardTriage is an organising tool, not a backup service.

Local by design

CardTriage is a sandboxed native Mac app for macOS 13 or later, built for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It accesses folders you explicitly select. It does not upload your media and has no in-app advertising, analytics or account system. Checksums, permissions and session records stay on your Mac. Exported reports can include personal filenames and paths, so review them before sharing.

What it is not

This is exact-content matching, not visual-similarity culling. An edited photograph and its original are different files. New material means no match was found in the selected comparison, not proof that a file has never been backed up elsewhere. Sidecars are checked as separate files rather than kept together automatically as a capture group.

Availability and support

CardTriage will be free. Version 1.1.0 is in pre-release testing and is not yet available as a public App Store download. There is no promised release date.

Visit cardtriage.com for the product overview. Use the CardTriage feedback form for questions, bug reports or privacy enquiries. Include the app and macOS versions and the steps that led to a problem, but do not send original media or unredacted reports.