diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 4a3c6fd..4d67bf3 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -9,12 +9,6 @@ repos:
     - id: detect-private-key
     - id: trailing-whitespace
       args: [--markdown-linebreak-ext=md]
-- repo: https://github.com/charliermarsh/ruff-pre-commit
-  rev: 'v0.0.225'
-  hooks:
-    - id: ruff
-      # Respect `exclude` and `extend-exclude` settings.
-      args: ["--force-exclude", "--fix"]
 - repo: https://github.com/psf/black
   rev: 22.10.0
   hooks:
@@ -26,6 +20,12 @@ repos:
       types: ["jupyter"]
       args: ["--drop-empty-cells",
              "--extra-keys 'metadata.language_info.version cell.metadata.jp-MarkdownHeadingCollapsed cell.metadata.pycharm'"]
+- repo: https://github.com/charliermarsh/ruff-pre-commit
+  rev: 'v0.0.225'
+  hooks:
+    - id: ruff
+      # Respect `exclude` and `extend-exclude` settings.
+      args: ["--force-exclude", "--fix"]
 - repo: https://github.com/codespell-project/codespell
   rev: v2.2.2
   hooks:
diff --git a/docs/release-notes.rst b/docs/release-notes.rst
index fd2bb0e..c1b4b4b 100644
--- a/docs/release-notes.rst
+++ b/docs/release-notes.rst
@@ -30,6 +30,29 @@ Release notes
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
+vYY.0M.MICRO (Unreleased)
+-------------------------
+
+Features
+~~~~~~~~
+
+* Files are no longer downloaded if an up-to-date version exists on local.
+
+Breaking changes
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Bugfixes
+~~~~~~~~
+
+Documentation
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Deprecations
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Stability, Maintainability, and Testing
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
 v23.01.1 (2023-01-20)
 ---------------------
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index fd13655..2711e49 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ addopts = """
 """
 filterwarnings = [
     "error",
+    # Many tests don't set a checksum, so File raises this warning.
+    "ignore:Cannot check if local file:UserWarning",
 ]
 
 [tool.mypy]
diff --git a/src/scitacean/client.py b/src/scitacean/client.py
index 5e15f40..d172965 100644
--- a/src/scitacean/client.py
+++ b/src/scitacean/client.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import dataclasses
 import datetime
 import re
 from contextlib import contextmanager
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ class Client:
     a client instead of the constructor directly.
 
     See the user guide for typical usage patterns.
-    In particular `Downloading Datasets <../../user-guide/downloading.ipynb>`_
+    In particular, `Downloading Datasets <../../user-guide/downloading.ipynb>`_
     and `Uploading Datasets <../../user-guide/uploading.ipynb>`_.
     """
 
@@ -280,7 +281,12 @@ class Client:
         return self._file_transfer
 
     def download_files(
-        self, dataset: Dataset, *, target: Union[str, Path], select: FileSelector = True
+        self,
+        dataset: Dataset,
+        *,
+        target: Union[str, Path],
+        select: FileSelector = True,
+        checksum_algorithm: Optional[str] = None,
     ) -> Dataset:
         r"""Download files of a dataset.
 
@@ -304,6 +310,10 @@ class Client:
             - An **re.Pattern** as returned by :func:`re.compile`:
               if this pattern matches ``f.remote_path`` using :func:`re.search`
             - A **Callable[File]**: if this callable returns ``True`` for ``f``
+        checksum_algorithm:
+            Select an algorithm for computing file checksums.
+            This argument will be removed when the next SciCat version
+            has been released.
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -348,19 +358,24 @@ class Client:
         # TODO undo if later fails but only if no files were written
         target.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         files = _select_files(select, dataset)
-        local_paths = [target / f.remote_path for f in files]
+        downloaded_files = [
+            f.downloaded(local_path=target / f.remote_path) for f in files
+        ]
+        downloaded_files = _remove_up_to_date_local_files(
+            downloaded_files, checksum_algorithm=checksum_algorithm
+        )
+        if not downloaded_files:
+            return dataset.replace()
+
         with self._connect_for_file_download() as con:
             con.download_files(
                 remote=[
                     p
-                    for f in files
+                    for f in downloaded_files
                     if (p := f.remote_access_path(dataset.source_folder)) is not None
                 ],
-                local=local_paths,
+                local=[f.local_path for f in downloaded_files],
             )
-        downloaded_files = tuple(
-            f.downloaded(local_path=l) for f, l in zip(files, local_paths)
-        )
         for f in downloaded_files:
             f.validate_after_download()
         return dataset.replace_files(*downloaded_files)
@@ -746,3 +761,18 @@ def _file_selector(select: FileSelector) -> Callable[[File], bool]:
 def _select_files(select: FileSelector, dataset: Dataset) -> List[File]:
     selector = _file_selector(select)
     return [f for f in dataset.files if selector(f)]
+
+
+def _remove_up_to_date_local_files(
+    files: List[File], checksum_algorithm: Optional[str]
+) -> List[File]:
+    return [
+        file
+        for file in files
+        if not (
+            file.local_path.exists()
+            and dataclasses.replace(
+                file, checksum_algorithm=checksum_algorithm
+            ).local_is_up_to_date()
+        )
+    ]
diff --git a/src/scitacean/file.py b/src/scitacean/file.py
index 9820164..d923936 100644
--- a/src/scitacean/file.py
+++ b/src/scitacean/file.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import dataclasses
 import os
+import warnings
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import NoReturn, Optional, Union, cast
@@ -195,14 +196,14 @@ class File:
         :
             The checksum of the file.
         """
-        if self.is_on_local:
-            if self.checksum_algorithm is None:
-                return None
-            return self._checksum_cache.get(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
-                path=self.local_path,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
-                algorithm=self.checksum_algorithm,
-            )
-        return self._remote_checksum
+        if not self.is_on_local:
+            return self._remote_checksum
+        if self.checksum_algorithm is None:
+            return None
+        return self._checksum_cache.get(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
+            path=self.local_path,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+            algorithm=self.checksum_algorithm,
+        )
 
     def remote_access_path(
         self, source_folder: Union[RemotePath, str]
@@ -220,6 +221,32 @@ class File:
         """True if the file is on local."""
         return self.local_path is not None
 
+    def local_is_up_to_date(self) -> bool:
+        """Check if the file on local is up-to-date.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        :
+            True if the file exists on local and its checksum
+            matches the stored checksum for the remote file.
+        """
+        if not self.is_on_remote:
+            return True
+        if not self.is_on_local:
+            return False
+        if self.checksum_algorithm is None:
+            warnings.warn(
+                f"Cannot check if local file {self.local_path} is up to date because "
+                "the checksum algorithm is not set. "
+                "Assuming the file needs to be updated."
+            )
+            return False
+        local_checksum = self._checksum_cache.get(  # type: ignore[union-attr]
+            path=self.local_path,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+            algorithm=self.checksum_algorithm,
+        )
+        return self._remote_checksum == local_checksum
+
     def make_model(self, *, for_archive: bool = False) -> DataFile:
         """Build a pydantic model for this file.
 

diff --git a/tests/download_test.py b/tests/download_test.py
index 9279eb6..3a44e54 100644
--- a/tests/download_test.py
+++ b/tests/download_test.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2023 SciCat Project (https://github.com/SciCatProject/scitacean)
 import hashlib
 import re
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Union
 
@@ -15,6 +16,12 @@ from scitacean.model import DataFile, OrigDatablock, RawDataset
 from scitacean.testing.transfer import FakeFileTransfer
 
 
+def _checksum(data: bytes) -> str:
+    checksum = hashlib.new("md5")
+    checksum.update(data)
+    return checksum.hexdigest()
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def data_files():
     contents = {
@@ -23,7 +30,8 @@ def data_files():
         "thaum.dat": b"0 4 2 59 330 2314552",
     }
     files = [
-        DataFile(path=name, size=len(content)) for name, content in contents.items()
+        DataFile(path=name, size=len(content), chk=_checksum(content))
+        for name, content in contents.items()
     ]
     return files, contents
 
@@ -251,3 +259,56 @@ def test_download_files_detects_bad_size(fs, dataset_and_files, caplog):
         client.download_files(dataset, target="./download", select="file.txt")
     assert "does not match size reported in dataset" in caplog.text
     assert "89412" in caplog.text
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skip("Checksum algorithm not yet supported by datablocks")
+def test_download_does_not_download_up_to_date_file(fs, dataset_and_files):
+    # Ensure the file exists locally
+    dataset, contents = dataset_and_files
+    client = Client.without_login(
+        url="/", file_transfer=FakeFileTransfer(fs=fs, files=contents)
+    )
+    client.download_files(dataset, target="./download", select=True)
+
+    # Downloading the same files again should not call the downloader.
+    class RaisingDownloader(FakeFileTransfer):
+        source_dir = "/"
+
+        @contextmanager
+        def connect_for_download(self):
+            raise RuntimeError("Download disabled")
+
+    client = Client.without_login(
+        url="/",
+        file_transfer=RaisingDownloader(fs=fs),
+    )
+    # Does not raise
+    client.download_files(dataset, target="./download", select=True)
+
+
+def test_download_does_not_download_up_to_date_file_manual_checksum(
+    fs, dataset_and_files
+):
+    # Ensure the file exists locally
+    dataset, contents = dataset_and_files
+    client = Client.without_login(
+        url="/", file_transfer=FakeFileTransfer(fs=fs, files=contents)
+    )
+    client.download_files(dataset, target="./download", select=True)
+
+    # Downloading the same files again should not call the downloader.
+    class RaisingDownloader(FakeFileTransfer):
+        source_dir = "/"
+
+        @contextmanager
+        def connect_for_download(self):
+            raise RuntimeError("Download disabled")
+
+    client = Client.without_login(
+        url="/",
+        file_transfer=RaisingDownloader(fs=fs),
+    )
+    # Does not raise
+    client.download_files(
+        dataset, target="./download", select=True, checksum_algorithm="md5"
+    )
diff --git a/tests/file_test.py b/tests/file_test.py
index ca745cc..bb89fba 100644
--- a/tests/file_test.py
+++ b/tests/file_test.py
@@ -286,3 +286,51 @@ def test_validate_after_download_detects_size_mismatch(fake_file, caplog):
     with caplog.at_level("INFO", logger=logger_name()):
         downloaded.validate_after_download()
     assert "does not match size reported in dataset" in caplog.text
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("chk", ("sha256", None))
+def test_local_is_not_up_to_date_for_remote_file(chk):
+    file = File.from_scicat(DataFile(path="data.csv", size=65178, chk=chk))
+    assert not file.local_is_up_to_date()
+
+
+def test_local_is_up_to_date_for_local_file():
+    # Note that the file does not actually exist on disk but the test still works.
+    file = File.from_local(path="image.jpg")
+    assert file.local_is_up_to_date()
+
+
+def test_local_is_not_up_to_date_without_checksum_alg():
+    file = File.from_scicat(
+        DataFile(path="data.csv", size=65178, chk="sha256")
+    ).downloaded(local_path="data.csv")
+    with pytest.warns(UserWarning, match="checksum"):
+        assert not file.local_is_up_to_date()
+
+
+def test_local_is_up_to_date_matching_checksum(fake_file):
+    model = DataFile(
+        path=fake_file["path"].name,
+        size=fake_file["size"],
+        time=parse_date("2022-06-22T15:42:53.123Z"),
+        chk=fake_file["checksum"],
+    )
+    file = replace(
+        File.from_scicat(model).downloaded(local_path=fake_file["path"]),
+        checksum_algorithm="md5",
+    )
+    assert file.local_is_up_to_date()
+
+
+def test_local_is_not_up_to_date_differing_checksum(fake_file):
+    model = DataFile(
+        path=fake_file["path"].name,
+        size=fake_file["size"],
+        time=parse_date("2022-06-22T15:42:53.123Z"),
+        chk="a-different-checksum",
+    )
+    file = replace(
+        File.from_scicat(model).downloaded(local_path=fake_file["path"]),
+        checksum_algorithm="md5",
+    )
+    assert not file.local_is_up_to_date()

File caching
I was think if we could implement a rudimentary file caching following this simple workflow:
- user indicate that a local copy of the file is needed by using the provide_locally function
```
dataset.files[x].provide_locally(
    local_folder,
    downloader=file_transfer_function,
    checksum_algorithm=algorithm
)
```
- scitacean find the local path where the file should be saved
- scitacean check if a file by that name is already present
- if no file is present, it downloads the file
- if the file is present and we have the original checksum and the checksum algorithm:
  - Scitacean computes the has of the local file
  - if it matches the hash of the remote one, the local file is used
  - if it does not match, it downloads the remote file overwriting the local one

tests/file_test.py::test_local_is_up_to_date_for_local_file