
Dropbox ignore file or folder in beta - spectaclepiece
https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/restore-delete/ignored-files
======
veeralpatel979
It's unfortunate that as startups get larger, the speed of improvement on
their product often gets slower.

It's strange to me that Dropbox has thousands of employees, people have wanted
this for a _long_ time, and yet this hasn't been built.

You'd think that with more engineering/PM/design talent the product would get
better, and faster.

Anyone have any insight into why happens? I've never worked at a early stage
startup but here are some hypotheses:

\- Maybe this is a good thing. After a product is "done", adding more
functionality makes it worse, not better.

\- Maybe the company leadership's focus shifts from building a great product
to scaling as fast as possible. And doing both at once isn't possible.

\- Maybe the engineering division grows substantially, but the number of
people actually working on the product doesn't change much. Instead the new
engineers work on important, but auxiliary things, like dev tooling, security,
infra, ops, etc

\- Maybe developing features takes longer because there's more process:
security/legal/ops needs to review it, several layers of management need to
approve it, it needs to work in multiple countries, etc

\- Maybe the urgency to keep improving your product disappears after you feel
that you've made it

\- Maybe it's more important to take longer to build stable, complete features
instead of shipping as fast as possible

~~~
twblalock
The larger a product gets, the risk and customer impact of regressions
increases, so even "simple" changes require significant engineering and QA
effort. There are also so many feature requests that prioritizing them is a
full time job.

~~~
degenerate
That, and, as people move on - their code remains... so part of adding new
features means sifting through the codebase to learn what everything does and
be very careful not to add new bugs.

------
spectaclepiece
The most requested feature, to allow a file or folder to be ignored by Dropbox
sync without using selective sync is finally in beta.

The community requested a .dropboxignore file but they chose another solution
which I’m sure is reasonable for making the feature more user friendly to non-
devs.

This will be immensely helpful for node_modules or build target directories.

~~~
NikolaeVarius
I can imagine a world where a arbitrary directory is filled with gitignore,
dropboxignore, googledriveignore, backblazeignore, s3ignore, rsynciginore,
dotignore, ipfsignore . . .

Goddamn, stop the world I want to get off

~~~
bsaul
That's probably a clue something needs to be done at the OS level regarding FS
integration with cloud syncing systems and permissions.

~~~
monsieurbanana
All major OS already have a permission' system. It's on dropbox & co to honor
them.

On linux you can create an user group named "cloud", and allow dropbox to only
sync files that belong to that group.

~~~
bsaul
Except dropbox will be totally unaware and try to access it.

What i envisionned was more like a "control center" app of all the outgoing
(and incoming) pipes from your FS to syncing systems, with both last syncing
time, configuration, etc. A little bit like what's already happening for mail
and calendar integration into iOS applications, only for files and on the
desktop.

~~~
monsieurbanana
Sorry, I edited my post before reading yours.

Yes, right now Dropbox would probably crash, but that's their problem. I
really don't think it's something that should be handled by the OS when they
already have a solution for it.

~~~
bsaul
Depending on wether you're a linux, windows or mac user, you'll probably have
different expectations on what the OS is suppose to provide by default.

------
fyp
The dropbox cli already lets you ignore folders. I've have had the following
script for many years to ignore node_modules:

    
    
      exclude_folders=$(find . -type d -name "node_modules" | grep -v "node_modules/")
      echo "Excluding $exclude_folders"
      dropbox exclude add $exclude_folders
      dropbox exclude list
    

The feature I want is _pattern-based_ ignore in a .dropboxignore file.

~~~
doomrobo
This is also true of the GUI. It's called Selective Sync

~~~
dmitshur
I’m finding it hard to understand how this new feature differs from Selective
Sync.

Is there something this lets one do that couldn’t be done before? Or is it
just adding convenience?

~~~
jayrhynas
This is kind of the opposite. With Selective Sync, the file exists on
Dropbox.com and 0 or more client devices, and each device can choose whether
or not to sync the file. The new ignore feature allows a file to exist on one
device without being uploaded or synced to other devices.

------
terpua
for those using google drive or onedrive, we have ignore rules which supports
gitignore syntax -- [https://help.insynchq.com/en/articles/3045421-ignore-
rules](https://help.insynchq.com/en/articles/3045421-ignore-rules)

note: i'm a co-founder

~~~
pottertheotter
To clarify, Insync is a client used in place of Backup and Sync / Drive File
Stream?

Do you have a Linux CLI client? I have a headless Ubuntu server at home that I
sync personal files on. Currently using Dropbox but in the process of
switching to Google Drive (both a personal and business account) and it seems
like there's no good CLI only client for Linux.

~~~
terpua
we have a headless client for insync 1.5.7 but we are adding it also to our
laster version: insync 3.

we are asking for feedback here -- [https://forums.insynchq.com/t/feedback-
wanted-insync-3-headl...](https://forums.insynchq.com/t/feedback-wanted-
insync-3-headless/15488)

------
s9w
That seems like an arcane solution, although I'm happy they finally added it

~~~
CGamesPlay
I think this is a perfectly good technical solution that they haven't built a
modern UI for, is all. It's great that under the hood the feature will be
easily scriptable using standard OS utilities.

~~~
s9w
Yeah I'm just confused why there is no UI integration. It's not like Dropbox
is too light on the UI otherwise.

~~~
michaelmior
I'm assuming since this is beta they probably guessed enough of the users who
want this are technically capable of managing without a UI during testing.

------
Angostura
OK, this is probably a very dumb question, but I'm trying tio understand the
usecase.

I put things that I want to sync with Dropbox in /Dropbox and take out things
that I don't want to sync.

Why would I want to leave things in /Dropbox that I don't want on Dropbox?

~~~
marksomnian
If you're a Node/JavaScript developer, you might want to keep code in Dropbox,
but putting node_modules in there will tank it.

~~~
dylan604
I don't use Dropbox, nor am I a Node dev. Why would a node_modules directory
tank Dropbox?

~~~
somehnguy
Because NPM's first operation is to pull in half the internet as modules so
you can write 'Hello World' on your webpage. Thats too many files for the
Dropbox client to handle.

------
gwbas1c
I worked on a sync product that had this feature "forever." The problem with
the "ignore" feature is that it creates corner cases in almost every use case
we add. A huge amount of engineering resources goes into this feature, even
though its only used by a minority of users.

A big problem comes with un-ignoring a file / folder, specifically if someone
else has gone and added the same file / folder on another computer or in the
web. The only way to make that use case work smoothly is to basically read
minds, because there's no way to know which version of the file / folder is
the right one.

~~~
yunruse
Sync conflicts are never fun, but from personal experience programs that
attempt to auto-resolve them aren’t exactly letting the user in on what’s
going on.

The best way to make that work in that case would be to explicitly inform the
user when unignoring of the conflict and ask which to keep (showing metadata
etc). A quick “retain other version” would help if the user was unsure.

~~~
gwbas1c
All I can say is: That's easier said than done. Dropbox's implementation has
no UI, building such a wizard is probably much more complicated than they
anticipated!

I've always advocated for wizards like that, but everyone gets enamored with
building the next shiny feature.

Some days I wonder if I should just quit and make an open source sync
product... And if I'd actually make a living doing it!

------
joeblau
Could they make it work like git? Then all of the templates hosted by
[https://gitignore.io](https://gitignore.io) would work!

------
bad_user
Are these settings persisted on their server?

Does Dropbox know to not sync those files on a new computer, or do you have to
set those settings everywhere?

If not, if this works like Selective Sync (which is a local setting), then you
can end up accidentally syncing those files from new computers. And is thus
not equivalent with a .gitignore.

Also does it support glob patterns?

Why couldn't they do a .gitignore that syncs along with your other Dropbox
files and be done with it?

~~~
mah_man
On a side note, you really are true to your name!

------
kbumsik
Interesting. It's the first time for me to see a use of file attributes in
Linux. What are the common use cases of file attributes?

Also, I just notice that every files in Dropbox folder has
com.dropbox.attributes key with unreadable binary value. Does anyone have an
idea about this field?

~~~
_visgean
its dropbox id for each file - useful when you move files around, dropbox
client can check the ids with the data on server and decide whether to upload
the file or not...

~~~
kbumsik
That is a clever approach to track files. Thanks for info.

------
wtmt
While the instructions go to a level of detail with the assumption that the
person typing these commands may not be familiar with them, I don’t get why
there are no instructions on this page to revert ignoring a file or folder so
that it starts syncing to Dropbox again.

------
karlicoss
Obligatory mention of Syncthing, which had .stignore file for a while [0].
It's open source, and you can selfhost in; but the downside comparing to
Dropbox is that you won't be able to access your files if your computers are
off.

[0]
[https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html](https://docs.syncthing.net/users/ignoring.html)

~~~
bad_user
Recommending Syncthing kind of misses the point for many Dropbox users.

I want cloud storage that's hosted on infrastructure that's not mine, because
I don't trust myself to keep it redundant and up to date, a perpetual security
risk. Even if I could setup a local LAN storage device at home and keep it
always on and available, it's a nuisance and I don't want it.

Even more, when accessing files, I don't necessarily want to download them
locally. If I have photos or documents, I want to search them or browse them
without downloading entire folders locally. And I browse files on my iPhone
quite often too, I need a good iPhone app.

My only problem with Dropbox is one of security, as it misses end to end
encryption, but then again, the files wouldn't be as accessible if they did
that, plus personally I think encryption should be local and app specific for
it to be reliable, therefore I'm encrypting (via GPG mostly) the sensitive
files that I need to encrypt.

------
brian_herman__
It would be cool to make a file that would be globally ignored with all
syncing services so it couldn't be uploaded. Though I do not think this is
possible.

------
azhenley
I recently wrote a blog post about another feature I have been wishing Dropbox
would add. Looks like it won't be happening anytime soon...

"Hey Dropbox, why can't I compare file versions like this?"
[http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~azh/blog/whycanticomparefileversion...](http://web.eecs.utk.edu/~azh/blog/whycanticomparefileversions.html)

------
dkobia
FYI I tried this feature out a few months ago and found it to be useless for
build folders. Extended attributes (xattr) get lost everytime you recreate a
file/folder - think 'build', 'node_modules' etc. Additionally Dropbox broke
selective sync which is even more infuriating. All this combined means my hard
drive is running all the time.

------
Illniyar
Will an ignored file be ignored for all devices or just my device?

That is, what if I have a file/directory in my dropbox on one device and then
another device "ignores" it? would it be ignored everywhere or just in my
device?

Either way seems like a recipe for a lot of problems. No wonder it took so
long to get to it (and it's still in Beta).

~~~
gwbas1c
Paragraph #2 answers your question:

> Once ignored, the file or folder remains where it is in your Dropbox folder
> and is synced to your computer’s hard drive, but it’s deleted from the
> Dropbox server and your other devices, can’t be accessed on dropbox.com, and
> won’t sync to your Dropbox account.

------
oscarpaz
This is good to know! On Linux, Dropbox's CLI implements an 'exclude' command
that you can apply to certain files/folders. But it doesn't always work. I've
had issues especially with Docker volumes, that I set to ignore, but dropbox
gets stalled in a endless syncing status... Hope this fixes it!

------
kissgyorgy
LOL I think Nextcloud has this feature for years already? Such a superior
experience compared to Dropbox! I will never look back! Especially now with
the next big update: Nextcloud Hub:
[https://nextcloud.com/](https://nextcloud.com/)

------
dpcan
Fantastic!!! Will definitely go back to Dropbox when this feature is
available.

Recently I switched to OneDrive, also no ignore that I can find, but I'm only
making extra copies of stuff in there that I want backed up to the cloud.

~~~
CodeWriter23
Did OneDrive finally lift the 20,000 hard limit on the total number of files?

------
rmah
I have never understood why dropbox refuses to allow folders other than
"Dropbox" to be sync'ed. It mystifies me and keeps me from using it.

~~~
auto
Kinda feels like a dark pattern in order to get Dropbox to be your
"filesystem".

Can't lie, I've been a dropbox user since nearly the very beginning, and a
paid user for longer than I can remember, and it does kinda fill this purpose
for me. Application and platform specific things live outside of my Dropbox
directory, but everything personal, work, and school related document wise
lives in it, as well as a mostly unsynced folder that holds the backlog
archive of my entire digital life, to the tune of ~400gb.

------
binichgross
Well, better late than never.

------
andy9775
can I do a pattern based ignore, to ignore a specific folder in all
subfolders?

Dropbox/ __/ node_modules/

or similar?

------
nvr219
Mazal tov

------
treebornfrog
Genuine question, why do people here use Dropbox or box when Google drive is
far superior?

~~~
Ensorceled
Genuine answer: because it is not superior, certainly not “far superior” and
it’s a Google “I’ll probably kill you tomorrow.” product made by a company
whose ethics I no longer trust (Google).

~~~
andai
I first thought you meant Google "I'll probably kill your account tomorrow."

I constantly hear about people breaking ToS on one of many Google services and
having them all instantly disabled, no warning (usually losing mail email
account).

~~~
Ensorceled
There is that problem too! Using Google as a backup solution, even in a "belt
and suspenders" scenario, is too dangerous.

------
paulcnichols
Rejoice!

------
dropdrive
Is there any reason to use dropbox over onedrive? This feature has been in
onedrive I believe since Windows 10 release? (Also onedrive has linux clients
too so- I use it on Linux itself and the linux client by abraunegg supports
this)

~~~
gumby
I have had lots of sync problems with one drive (files excluded because of
characters in their names, frequent, heavy resyncs).

Perhaps you don't see these problems if you use Windows. I wanted to use it as
the marginal cost was 0 (already had to have a Word license) but I couldn't
rely on it.

I don't like Dropbox spraying shrapnel through my mac's UI even though I told
it not to, so don't take this as a defense of DB -- it simply sucks less and
does the baseline (save my files) better.

Which is also my justification for using a Mac (sucks the least of the options
available to me).

