Watch folders: which dropped files come in and which are skipped

This article explains what happens after you drop a file into a folder Booked Solid watches: how it travels into your workspace inbox, which files get skipped on purpose, and how to confirm what came in.

How a dropped file reaches the inbox

When a new or changed file appears in a watched folder, the app copies it into the inbox/ folder of your Booking HQ. The original file is never moved, deleted, or touched in any way - copy only.

• The app first waits for the file to finish writing. It checks that the file size has stopped changing (about a 1.5 second settle, then rechecks every 0.8 seconds) so a download or export mid-write never arrives half-done. This is why a file can take a few seconds to show up - that is normal.
• If a file in the inbox already has that name, the copy gets a numbered name like report-2.pdf, report-3.pdf. Nothing is overwritten.
• The copy is all the app does on its own. Deciding what the file means happens later, the next time Otto looks at the inbox.

Which files are skipped, and why

Some files are left alone on purpose:

• Hidden files (names starting with a dot) and Office lock files (names starting with ~$) - these are system or temporary files, not your work.
• Partial downloads and temp files ending in .tmp, .part, .crdownload, .download, or .swp - these are files still being written by another program.
• Empty files and anything over 200 MB - an empty file carries nothing to act on, and very large files do not belong in the inbox.
• A file that vanishes while the app is waiting for it to settle (a temp file that another program cleaned up) is quietly dropped.
• A watch folder that is disabled in Settings, or whose folder no longer exists on disk, is skipped entirely.

Saving the same file again re-imports it only when the file's modified time actually changed. The exact version that already came in is never copied twice, so a file sitting in the watch folder does not stack up endless numbered copies.

How to see what was picked up

Every arrival is written to inbox/inbox-log.md inside your Booking HQ, with the time, the file name it got in the inbox, and which watch folder it came from. Nothing comes in silently - if you are unsure whether a file made it, open that log.

If a file does not come in

• Check the skip list above first - a hidden, temp, empty, or over-200 MB file is skipped by design.
• Check that the watch folder is enabled in Settings and that the folder still exists at that path.
• Give it a few seconds - the app waits for the file to finish writing before copying.
• Look in inbox/inbox-log.md; if the file arrived under a numbered name like -2, the log says what it was renamed from.

Still stuck? Email bookedsolid@kivimedia.freshdesk.com and a person will help.