Question about ignoring files.

Support
1

I have two Windows boxes where I am using Syncthing to synchronize some files (music collection) between them.

Box A is the master source and is set to Send Only.

Box B is the backup and is Receive only.

I use the ignore filters to skip any annoyance files like system files, DS_store, etc. but share .mp3, .jpg, .txt files for example.

My question is where do the ignore patterns belong, on the sending box A, or on the receiving box B, or both?

If I had a third box C, and wanted to copy only the .mp3 files, would a different ignore list on the C receiving end work?

I’ve read and reread the docs and searched the topics here and am still not sure what is correct. I guess what I am asking is does the syncing process examine both sets of ignore filters, or does it follow one end only? If so, which end?

2

You’d need to ignore them on every device.

3

What do you mean by “them?” I want to ignore a different set of files on each receiving device.

A is send-only. So I don’t know what it needs.

B I want to get sets of files that go with an album, i.e. .mp3 .jpg, .txt, but ignore everything else.

C I only want .mp3 files, nothing else.

I would assume that different ignore patterns for B an C are in order, but how does the ignore patterns at A affect them?

4

Whatever is ignored effectively does not exist on the device (and will not be downloaded from other devices).

5

Again, could you be a little more informative?

Using my example, A, which is write-only, so is anything in it’s ignore list not downloaded by any other device, or do the ignore lists on B and C determine what is downloaded? Or both?

I will never be transferring from B to A, or C to A, or even B to C, so how does that factor in?

What I’m reading from your answer is that anything I have ignored on A effectively does not exist, so can’t be downloaded by B or C. But I want some files from A to go to B, and others from A to go to C. Some go to both. If I have A ignore nothing, do the ignore lists on B and C cause them to behave differently and download only the files allowed by their lists? Or do their ignore lists only affect what could be downloaded from them?

6

Ignores are local, any file that others notify me about, or any file I find locally, I ignore.

This has NO effect on what others do between themselves.

7

So, in your example:

  • On A you ignore anything you do not want to be made available to sync.
  • On B you ignore anything you don’t want sync’ed to B
  • On C you ignore anything you don’t want sync’d to C.
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8

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