Add .dropboxignore directory to exclude folders without using selective sync

sebastian_  wrote:

 

Will this work when set on a root directory so that ALL `node_modules` sub-directories ever created now, or in the future, deleted, and re-created over time will be ignored and not synced without further user action? Each of these `node_module` cache folders contain hundreds of thousands of files each and undergo regular refreshes. It's absolutely critical that Dropbox NOT process/traverse these sub-directories whatsoever.

 

If `com.dropbox.ignore` can be set at the Dropbox/ root, will you explain the exact steps for macOS? It will be such a life saver

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Unfortunately, setting 'com.dropbox.ignore' at the Dropbox/root would not achieve the desired effect, because that would mean asking Dropbox to ignore the entire contents of the Dropbox folder. That is due to the way the 'com.dropbox.ignore' feature is currently implemented in the Dropbox desktop client. For now it is only possible to ignore existing folders by marking them individually with 'com.dropbox.ignore'.

What you described makes perfect sense and I am thinking of another way to achieve that. I will write back here if I find something worth mentioning.

Same here! In Dev-Environment there are a lot of Temp, cached, whatever files you don't want to sync. A way to exclude those files/folders via patterns would be very helpful. 

@Dropbox-Team / @Emma: Don't forget!!!! - Developers are very often a multiplicator for other customers...

[Update]

OMG - I just saw in one of the other comments that there is already a .dbxignore-File for Backups!!! 
Please! give us this feature for Sync. This would be a massive argument for DropBox.

Another argument: Sometimes you have very critical files on your machine like certificates or password-Files.
You don't want them synced to Dropbox or to another machine.

I actively use dropbox to manage all my client projects. In addition to sorting all my client/project assets, each one has at least two github repository nested within. I did this because its an amazing user experience to have all my files, environment variables, and graphic assets sync seamlessly between 6 different workstations. The single bane of my existence is the node_modules folder. Any time I create a new project or start adding more dependencies to an exciting one - dropbox takes an eternity to sync do to this folder. Having to manually deselect every singe node_modules folder just isn't a sustainable approach. I think Dropbox could benefit from creating a .gitignore equivalent so I can remove certain folders or file types globally from the system. 

Hi Razvan Boxifier, Thank you for the explanation.

Will this work when set on a root directory so that ALL `node_modules` sub-directories ever created now, or in the future, deleted, and re-created over time will be ignored and not synced without further user action? Each of these `node_module` cache folders contain hundreds of thousands of files each and undergo regular refreshes. It's absolutely critical that Dropbox NOT process/traverse these sub-directories whatsoever.

If `com.dropbox.ignore` can be set at the Dropbox/ root, will you explain the exact steps for macOS? It will be such a life saver.

Razvan Boxifier - Thank you so much!

What a great explanation. Much appreciated.

Justin from Just Front-end wrote:

Are you by chance, able to explain exactly what this command is doing?

"Set-Content -Path C:\Users\yourName\Dropbox\someFolder -Stream com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1"

 

I read the Microsoft docs on "Set-Content", but I'm perplexed exactly on how this stops Dropbox from syncing?

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Sure, what that command does is to mark a folder on the local filesystem so that it is ignored by the Dropbox sync engine. It does that by attaching an "alternate data stream" (which is a feature of the NTFS filesystem) to the folder that you want to exclude from syncing. You can think of it like putting a sticky note on a folder.

When scanning the Dropbox folder looking for changes to sync, Dropbox checks for the presence of such alternate data stream named  "com.dropbox.ignore" attached to a folder. What that PowerShell command that you quoted does is to attach an alternate data stream named "com.dropbox.ignore", with the contents of the stream being "1". In computer code, 1 is the value for "true" or "enabled".

This means that the decision to ignore the folder is only stored locally (on that computer), so it only applies to the computer where you run the command, not other computers where you are also using Dropbox with the same account.

Justin from Just Front-end wrote:

Is there a list of files/folders somewhere on one's computer which Dropbox uses as a reference for
what files/folders not to sync?

Or is such a reference stored in the cloud?

To answer your question, there isn't one place or list on one's computer for Dropbox to use as a reference. It builds that list on-the-fly by scanning the Dropbox folder and seeing which folders have the ".com.dropbox.ignore" sticky note attached to them.

Hope that helps!

Razvan

Emma I assume after several months of investigating after 8 years of being at the top of Top "Dropbox ideas", surely Dropbox can give us an update on a critical feature for many.

At the very least, it should have a status update from "Investigating" to "Accepted" again considering it was "Accepted" before and never actually delivered in any usable fashion. 

and the silence off dropbox continues

Razvan Boxifier - Are you by chance, able to explain exactly what this command is doing?

"Set-Content -Path C:\Users\yourName\Dropbox\someFolder -Stream com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1"

I read the Microsoft docs on "Set-Content", but I'm perplexed exactly on how this stops Dropbox from syncing? Is there a list of files/folders somewhere on one's computer which Dropbox uses as a reference for what files/folders not to sync?

Or is such a reference stored in the cloud?

Wow ... same here. I can't believe that it's 2023 now, and we still don't have an easy way to accomplish local-only files.