Exclusion patterns
Exclusion patterns are a feature of external libraries. They are set per library on its Scan Settings page and have no effect on assets uploaded to Immich normally.
Exclusion patterns are glob patterns that prevent files from being imported. They are matched against the full file path, and a file matching any pattern is not added.
See External libraries for how patterns fit into scanning, External Library settings for where they are configured, and Add an external library for a worked example.
The Immich CLI is separate from external libraries, but its --ignore option accepts the same glob syntax documented below.
Syntax
| Token | Matches |
|---|---|
* | Zero or more characters within a single filename or directory name |
** | Zero or more directories, recursively. At the end of a pattern it also matches all files beneath it |
{a,b} | Either alternative, e.g. {tif,jpg} |
\ | Escapes the following character, needed for special characters such as @ |
Examples
| Pattern | Effect |
|---|---|
**/*.tif | Excludes all files with the extension .tif |
**/hidden.jpg | Excludes all files named hidden.jpg |
**/Raw/** | Excludes all files in any directory named Raw |
**/*.{tif,jpg} | Excludes all files with the extension .tif or .jpg |
**/exclude_me/** | Excludes all files in any directory named exclude_me, and all files in its subdirectories, recursively |
**/\@eaDir/** | Excludes all files in any directory named @eaDir |
Implementation
Immich processes exclusion patterns with the glob package, and sometimes translates them into Postgres LIKE patterns.
Because not every glob construct can be reliably translated to the Postgres syntax, only basic folder and extension exclusions are supported; advanced glob usage is not recommended. See the glob primer for an overview of the syntax in general.