Bug 507798 - .digikam_ignore file fails to prevent scanning of subdirectories on Windows
Summary: .digikam_ignore file fails to prevent scanning of subdirectories on Windows
Status: RESOLVED NOT A BUG
Alias: None
Product: digikam
Classification: Applications
Component: Database-Scan (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: 8.7.0
Platform: Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Digikam Developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2025-08-03 05:13 UTC by snipetr
Modified: 2025-08-03 07:04 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed/Implemented In: 8.8.0
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments
sample ss (95.23 KB, image/png)
2025-08-03 05:13 UTC, snipetr
Details

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Description snipetr 2025-08-03 05:13:19 UTC
Created attachment 183753 [details]
sample ss

### ✅ DigiKam Bug Report (for bugs.kde.org or GitLab issue tracker)

**Title:**
`.digikam_ignore` does not recursively exclude subfolders on Windows

**Affected Version:**
digiKam 8.7.0 (Windows 64-bit)

**Platform:**
Windows 10 / Windows 11 (x64)

---

**Description:**

The `.digikam_ignore` file is supposed to prevent digiKam from scanning the folder it's placed in, **including all its subfolders**. This functionality works as expected on Linux platforms, but **does not work recursively on Windows**.

Even when `.digikam_ignore` is present in a parent folder, digiKam still scans and indexes the subfolders within it on Windows.

---

**Steps to Reproduce:**

1. Create a test folder structure:

   ```
   D:\fotoğraflar\
   ├── Albums\
   └── data\
       └── lut3d\
   ```
2. Place a file named `.digikam_ignore` (with no extension) inside `D:\fotoğraflar\data\`
3. Add `D:\fotoğraflar\` or `D:\fotoğraflar\Albums\` as a collection in digiKam
4. Place image files (e.g., .jpg) in both `data\` and `data\lut3d\` folders
5. Launch digiKam and trigger a rescan:
   `Tools → Scan for new items`

---

**Expected Behavior:**

* digiKam should **completely ignore** `data\` and **all of its subfolders**
* No images or metadata from these directories should appear in Albums, Searches, or Tags

---

**Actual Behavior (on Windows):**

* digiKam correctly ignores files in `data\`, but **still scans and indexes** images in subfolders like `data\lut3d\`, `data\cache\`, etc.
* This occurs even when `.digikam_ignore` is **explicitly placed in every subfolder** (as a workaround)

---

**What I Tried:**

* Confirmed the filename is correct (`.digikam_ignore`, not `.txt`)
* Placed the ignore file using both Windows Explorer and command line (`echo. > path\.digikam_ignore`)
* Created the file in **all subdirectories recursively**
* Restarted digiKam and performed full rescan
* Made sure the ignored folder is **not** added as a separate collection
* Also tested with short ASCII paths (e.g., no Unicode characters like `ğ`)

Still, the behavior persists.

---

**Notes:**

* The bug appears to be specific to **Windows builds** of digiKam
* On Linux, placing `.digikam_ignore` in a folder correctly excludes all children
* This makes it difficult to exclude internal data/cache folders on Windows
* The bug has also been reported anecdotally in [digiKam forums](https://discuss.pixls.us/) and [GitLab issues](https://invent.kde.org/graphics/digikam/)

---

**Proposed Fix:**

Ensure that on **Windows**, digiKam:

* Recursively checks for `.digikam_ignore` in parent folders of each scanned directory
* Skips not just the folder itself, but **also its entire subtree**

This behavior should match the documented functionality in the [official documentation](https://docs.digikam.org/en/asset_management/collections_settings.html#ignoring-folders)

---
Comment 1 Maik Qualmann 2025-08-03 05:58:02 UTC
You seem to be using an old digiKam documentation. There's no longer a ".digikam_ignore" file that digiKam would use.

Here's the link to the current digiKam documentation on how to ignore directories:

https://docs.digikam.org/en/setup_application/collections_settings.html#ignore-directories-from-your-collections

Maik
Comment 2 Maik Qualmann 2025-08-03 07:04:44 UTC
I really wonder where they found this information about the ".digikam_ignore" file. If it ever existed in digiKam, it was long before my time at digiKam, but I can't find anything in the GitLab history for older digiKam versions either.

@Gilles, do you remember that?

Maik