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Locations connect your existing folders to Spacedrive, making files searchable and organized without moving them. This guide covers adding locations, configuring indexing options, and optimizing performance for different use cases. You’ll learn to index everything from small document folders to massive media libraries efficiently.

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Understand Locations

A location represents a folder on your device that Spacedrive monitors. Key concepts: Non-Destructive: Spacedrive never moves or modifies your original files. It only reads and indexes. Device-Specific: Each location belongs to one device. Other devices see the files but can’t access the physical path. Real-Time Monitoring: Spacedrive watches for changes and updates the index automatically. Flexible Depth: Control how deeply Spacedrive analyzes files, from basic names to full content extraction.
Locations can be local folders, external drives, or network mounts. Spacedrive treats them equally once indexed.

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Add Your First Location

1

Open Location Manager

Click the + button next to “Locations” in sidebar or navigate to Settings → Locations.
2

Select Folder

Click “Add Location” and browse to the folder you want to index. Start with something manageable.
3

Configure Basic Settings

Set initial options:
  • Display Name: Friendly name shown in sidebar
  • Index Mode: How deeply to analyze (see below)
  • Hidden Files: Include or exclude dot files
4

Start Indexing

Click “Add” to begin. Monitor progress in the job manager (bottom status bar).
For testing, start with a folder containing <1,000 files. This indexes quickly and helps you understand the process.

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Indexing Modes Explained

Choose the right mode for your needs:

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Shallow Indexing

Fastest option capturing basic metadata:
  • File names and extensions
  • Size and timestamps
  • Directory structure
  • Basic file type detection
Use for:
  • Quick overviews
  • Temporary folders
  • Network drives
  • Initial exploration
Comprehensive analysis including:
  • Everything from shallow mode
  • Content-based hashing
  • Thumbnail generation
  • Media metadata (EXIF, duration)
  • Text extraction (coming soon)
Use for:
  • Photo libraries
  • Document archives
  • Media collections
  • Permanent storage

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Content Indexing

Full text and analysis (future release):
  • Everything from deep mode
  • OCR for images
  • Full text search
  • AI-powered tagging
  • Semantic relationships
Indexing mode affects initial scan only. You can re-index with different settings later.

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Configure Location Settings

Fine-tune each location after adding:
1

Access Location Settings

Right-click location in sidebar and select “Settings” or click gear icon.
2

Indexing Rules

Customize what gets indexed:
  • File Extensions: Include/exclude specific types
  • Size Limits: Skip files over certain size
  • Path Patterns: Ignore folders matching patterns
  • Date Ranges: Only index recent files
3

Watching Options

Control real-time monitoring:
  • Watch for Changes: Enable filesystem monitoring
  • Watch Frequency: How often to check (default: instant)
  • Process Immediately: Index new files right away
4

Advanced Settings

Performance and behavior:
  • Priority: Processing order vs other locations
  • Parallelism: Concurrent file processing
  • Thumbnail Size: Quality vs storage tradeoff

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Index Different Content Types

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Photo Libraries

Optimize for image collections: 
Settings for Photo Location:
- Indexing: Deep
- Thumbnails: High Quality
- Include: *.jpg, *.raw, *.heic
- Extract: EXIF metadata
- Watch: Enabled
Enable “Generate Previews” for instant photo browsing without opening files.

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Document Archives

Best practices for documents: 
Settings for Documents:
- Indexing: Deep  
- Include: *.pdf, *.docx, *.txt
- OCR: Enabled (when available)
- Versioning: Track changes

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Media Collections

Handle video and audio efficiently: 
Settings for Media:
- Indexing: Deep
- Thumbnails: First frame
- Extract: Duration, codec, resolution
- Exclude: *.tmp, *.partial

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Development Projects

Index code intelligently: 
Settings for Code:
- Indexing: Shallow
- Exclude: node_modules/, .git/, build/
- Include: Source files only
- Watch: Enabled for hot reload
Avoid indexing package directories like node_modules. They contain thousands of files that change frequently.

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Add External Drives

Index removable storage:
1

Connect Drive

Attach external drive and ensure it mounts properly.
2

Add as Location

Select the drive root or specific folders. Name clearly like “Backup Drive - 4TB”.
3

Configure Offline Behavior

In settings, enable “Offline Mode”:
  • Preserves index when disconnected
  • Shows files as unavailable
  • Re-syncs on reconnection
4

Set Auto-Mount

Optional: Configure system to auto-mount and index when connected.
Spacedrive remembers external drives. Reconnecting automatically updates the index for changes made elsewhere.

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Add Network Locations

Index NAS and network shares:
1

Mount Network Share

Ensure share mounted at OS level:
  • macOS: Finder → Go → Connect to Server
  • Windows: Map network drive
  • Linux: Mount via fstab or GUI
2

Add Location

Browse to mounted path and add like any folder.
3

Optimize for Network

Adjust settings for network performance:
  • Reduce parallelism
  • Enable caching
  • Increase timeouts
  • Shallow index initially
4

Handle Disconnections

Enable offline mode to prevent errors when network unavailable.

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Monitor Indexing Progress

Track indexing status effectively:

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Job Manager

Access via status bar or ⌘J / Ctrl+J:
  • Current file being processed
  • Files completed vs total
  • Processing speed
  • Time remaining estimate
  • Pause/resume controls

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Location Statistics

Right-click location → Statistics: 
Files indexed: 45,234
Total size: 127 GB
Last indexed: 2 mins ago
Index health: 98%
Thumbnails: 12,453

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System Resources

Monitor impact during indexing:
  • CPU usage (adjustable)
  • Disk I/O
  • Memory consumption
  • Network bandwidth (for remote)
Initial indexing runs at full speed. Subsequent updates throttle to avoid system impact.

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Optimize Performance

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Large Libraries (>100k files)

Handle massive collections:
1

Index in Phases

Add subfolders separately rather than entire directory tree at once.
2

Schedule Indexing

Run initial index during off-hours:
sd location add /large/library --schedule "02:00"
3

Adjust Parallelism

Reduce concurrent processing for stability: Settings → Location → Advanced → Max Workers: 2
4

Disable Previews Initially

Generate thumbnails after initial index completes.

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Slow Storage

Optimize for external/network drives:
  • Enable read caching
  • Increase batch sizes
  • Reduce random access
  • Use shallow indexing
  • Process sequentially

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System Impact

Minimize resource usage: CPU Management
  • Set process priority to low
  • Limit worker threads
  • Enable thermal throttling
Disk I/O
  • Reduce concurrent reads
  • Increase buffer sizes
  • Schedule during idle
Memory Usage
  • Lower thumbnail cache
  • Reduce preview quality
  • Clear cache regularly

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Troubleshooting

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Indexing stuck or slow

Common causes and solutions: Corrupted Files
  • Check logs for problem files
  • Exclude problematic paths
  • Run filesystem check
Permission Issues
  • Verify read access
  • Run as appropriate user
  • Check security software
Resource Constraints
  • Free up disk space
  • Close other applications
  • Increase system limits

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Files not appearing

Verify files indexed correctly:
  1. Check location statistics
  2. Confirm indexing completed
  3. Try manual rescan
  4. Check exclusion rules
  5. Verify file permissions

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Duplicates or missing files

Fix index inconsistencies:
1

Stop Watching

Disable location watching temporarily.
2

Clear Index

Right-click → Advanced → Clear Index (keeps settings).
3

Re-index

Start fresh index with same settings.
4

Verify Results

Check file count matches filesystem.

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Advanced Location Management

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Location Templates

Save configurations for reuse: 
Photo Import Template:
- Deep indexing
- High quality thumbs
- EXIF extraction
- Auto-organization rules
Apply templates when adding similar locations.

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Conditional Indexing

Index based on rules: 
Only index if:
- Free space > 10GB
- System idle > 5 min
- On AC power
- Network connected

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Location Hierarchies

Organize nested locations: 
Media Library/
├── Photos/          (Deep index)
├── RAW Files/       (Shallow index)  
└── Exports/         (Watch only)
Each sublocation can have different settings.

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Cross-Device Locations

Share location references:
While files stay on original device, location metadata syncs so other devices know what exists where.

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Best Practices

Start Small: Test with small folders before indexing everything. Name Clearly: Use descriptive names indicating content and device. Regular Maintenance: Re-scan locations monthly to catch any missed changes. Exclude Wisely: Prevent indexing temporary files, caches, and system folders. Monitor Health: Check location statistics regularly for issues. Document Settings: Note why specific settings chosen for future reference. Your locations now integrate seamlessly with Spacedrive, making all your files searchable and organized while preserving your existing structure. Add locations strategically and tune settings for optimal performance.