Add .dropboxignore directory to exclude folders without using selective sync

I have Dropbox since years and it's been years that I expect it to deliver this feature.

We need more controls on what's syncing because it's no good for computers and for mother earth to send over datas for nothing...

I know it's challenging but you can do it !

wasting data-centers space

Well my node_modules folders can't be syncronized with Dropbox because it's just too much for Dropbox. 

The solution would be a simple file .dbignore that tells Dropbox to ignore folders/files like that.

I guess my only solution is to do not use Dropbox, since with such projects my entire computer (and internet connection) becomes slow with dropbox syncing for hours.

Meaning, I don't really have any more reason to pay for Dropbox. I can't use it for professional reasons. Bye Dropbox.

+1

I moved to pCloud last month after reading through some of the reviews on this thread. And I couldn't be more satisfied. Besides being super-fast, pCloud effectively lets me ignore my node_modules folder.  As a result, everything syncs well, and the pCloud desktop app is way lighter than Dropbox, which burns into memory.

And pCloud lets me backup my Dropbox content as well, so I don't have to waste time in moving my data manually. All in all, a complete win, as far as my problem was concerned.

Have you taken a look at mega.nz? It seems to cover all my required bases in terms of ignoring files.

I've been slowly shifting off of DB and onto Mega

Also pCloud doesn't support ignoring folders based on a certain parent directory. E.g. I want to exclude all classes folders if the occur in the directory target. So the pattern would be: target/classes. In pCloud this doesn't work.

pCloud's customer service still doesn't include your original message in their replies. Also they do not have a public forum like this. They consider it "bad practice". I don't agree. For now I'll stick with Dropbox and still hope they will include this feature.

All the poeple talking about pCloud. I downloaded it and ignoring the folder is not that simple.

You can't just ignore a file that is in your pCloud drive. It HAS to be a local folder that you set to sync with pCloud. Thats first of all. Then you can choose to ignore a pattern within the synced folder. This means you need to be working on a local copy outside of the pCloud drive.

Then if you want to continue working on another computer im guessing you havw to take it out of the cloud and sync this one back also. 

Its not simple...

Update after a few weeks of using pCloud - it's quick...very quick.  As I'm sure others have noticed with DB, there would be completely random times when it would begin syncing 1mm+ files for no apparent reason.  Have had 0 of that with pcloud.  Every time I look up in the status bar I just see a big checkmark indicating everything is synced.  Check the laptop and everything's there.  All I want.

Another unintended, albeit funny, benefit is that my electricity bill has actually gone down due to my computer not being a space heater most of the day.  When Dropbox is syncing, it's pegging my CPU for everything it has and my air conditioning was running all day.  I've been monitoring my activity processes with pCloud and I hardly ever see it using any resources.  Before with DB it would consistently be at 117% - all day long.

Maybe we can get Dropbox's attention by coming at this from the eco-friendly angle...

But I don't care anymore - I'm done with DB.

Just to add my two cents:

Over the past ~2 Years my workflow has matured and Dropbox has diminished in my eyes. Both by not adding features I desperately need and by adding stuff that actively makes Dropbox unpleasant to use. (.dropboxignore would not count into this, since it could be implemented as a feature entirely invisible to users that don't need this).

Most of my projects that have to be shared with other people and also private ones now are in git repositories. Usually private GitLab ones. GitLab has a really light weight web interface and the command line tool (git) does exactly what I want. It has no giant chromium wrapper installed and also no app trying to be a social tool.

The only thing I really still use Dropbox for is as a way to share files via a public link, but I have been moving more to services like file.io, or even iCloud Drive recently. In the last few months I've used Dropbox only a few times, for exactly this.

In a month when I have more time I'll get around to remove Dropbox from all my devices, finding a simple (possibly commandline accessible) temporary file hosting service somewhere and once iOS/macOS addes shared folders in fall Drobox's last features will be obsolete for me.

Yeah I also have those concerns and i'd rather not switch but after changing the smart sync settings and having to wait nearly 20 days for it to re-index/sync the files - it was just too painful. 

I have been a long-time loyal Dropbox supprot and fan and persuaded many of my clients to use it as part of our projects, so have put many of them onto Dropbox.

If Dropbox would only just setup the ignore facility - the fact that several other cloud storage providers offer this, means it cannot be too complex. A ingore list or pattern would wokr, or simial a .dopboxignore file too. 

C'mon Dropbox, please lsiten to your loyal customers before you loose too many because if this issue. How it has been ignored for so long is beyond me.