---
title: Add and Index Locations
sidebarTitle: Add Locations
---

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.

## 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.

<Info>
Locations can be local folders, external drives, or network mounts. Spacedrive treats them equally once indexed.
</Info>

## Add Your First Location

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Location Manager">
Click the + button next to "Locations" in sidebar or navigate to Settings → Locations.
</Step>
<Step title="Select Folder">
Click "Add Location" and browse to the folder you want to index. Start with something manageable.
</Step>
<Step title="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
</Step>
<Step title="Start Indexing">
Click "Add" to begin. Monitor progress in the job manager (bottom status bar).
</Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
For testing, start with a folder containing \<1,000 files. This indexes quickly and helps you understand the process.
</Tip>

## Indexing Modes Explained

Choose the right mode for your needs:

### 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

### Deep Indexing (Recommended)
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

### Content Indexing
Full text and analysis (future release):
- Everything from deep mode
- OCR for images
- Full text search
- AI-powered tagging
- Semantic relationships

<Note>
Indexing mode affects initial scan only. You can re-index with different settings later.
</Note>

## Configure Location Settings

Fine-tune each location after adding:

<Steps>
<Step title="Access Location Settings">
Right-click location in sidebar and select "Settings" or click gear icon.
</Step>
<Step title="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
</Step>
<Step title="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
</Step>
<Step title="Advanced Settings">
Performance and behavior:
- **Priority**: Processing order vs other locations
- **Parallelism**: Concurrent file processing
- **Thumbnail Size**: Quality vs storage tradeoff
</Step>
</Steps>

## Index Different Content Types

### Photo Libraries

Optimize for image collections:

```
Settings for Photo Location:
- Indexing: Deep
- Thumbnails: High Quality
- Include: *.jpg, *.raw, *.heic
- Extract: EXIF metadata
- Watch: Enabled
```

<Tip>
Enable "Generate Previews" for instant photo browsing without opening files.
</Tip>

### Document Archives

Best practices for documents:

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

### Media Collections

Handle video and audio efficiently:

```
Settings for Media:
- Indexing: Deep
- Thumbnails: First frame
- Extract: Duration, codec, resolution
- Exclude: *.tmp, *.partial
```

### Development Projects

Index code intelligently:

```
Settings for Code:
- Indexing: Shallow
- Exclude: node_modules/, .git/, build/
- Include: Source files only
- Watch: Enabled for hot reload
```

<Warning>
Avoid indexing package directories like `node_modules`. They contain thousands of files that change frequently.
</Warning>

## Add External Drives

Index removable storage:

<Steps>
<Step title="Connect Drive">
Attach external drive and ensure it mounts properly.
</Step>
<Step title="Add as Location">
Select the drive root or specific folders. Name clearly like "Backup Drive - 4TB".
</Step>
<Step title="Configure Offline Behavior">
In settings, enable "Offline Mode":
- Preserves index when disconnected
- Shows files as unavailable
- Re-syncs on reconnection
</Step>
<Step title="Set Auto-Mount">
Optional: Configure system to auto-mount and index when connected.
</Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
Spacedrive remembers external drives. Reconnecting automatically updates the index for changes made elsewhere.
</Info>

## Add Network Locations

Index NAS and network shares:

<Steps>
<Step title="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
</Step>
<Step title="Add Location">
Browse to mounted path and add like any folder.
</Step>
<Step title="Optimize for Network">
Adjust settings for network performance:
- Reduce parallelism
- Enable caching
- Increase timeouts
- Shallow index initially
</Step>
<Step title="Handle Disconnections">
Enable offline mode to prevent errors when network unavailable.
</Step>
</Steps>

## Monitor Indexing Progress

Track indexing status effectively:

### 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

### 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
```

### System Resources
Monitor impact during indexing:
- CPU usage (adjustable)
- Disk I/O
- Memory consumption  
- Network bandwidth (for remote)

<Tip>
Initial indexing runs at full speed. Subsequent updates throttle to avoid system impact.
</Tip>

## Optimize Performance

### Large Libraries (>100k files)

Handle massive collections:

<Steps>
<Step title="Index in Phases">
Add subfolders separately rather than entire directory tree at once.
</Step>
<Step title="Schedule Indexing">
Run initial index during off-hours:
```bash
sd location add /large/library --schedule "02:00"
```
</Step>
<Step title="Adjust Parallelism">
Reduce concurrent processing for stability:
Settings → Location → Advanced → Max Workers: 2
</Step>
<Step title="Disable Previews Initially">
Generate thumbnails after initial index completes.
</Step>
</Steps>

### Slow Storage

Optimize for external/network drives:

- Enable read caching
- Increase batch sizes
- Reduce random access
- Use shallow indexing
- Process sequentially

### 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

## Troubleshooting

### 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

### 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

### Duplicates or missing files

Fix index inconsistencies:

<Steps>
<Step title="Stop Watching">
Disable location watching temporarily.
</Step>
<Step title="Clear Index">
Right-click → Advanced → Clear Index (keeps settings).
</Step>
<Step title="Re-index">
Start fresh index with same settings.
</Step>
<Step title="Verify Results">
Check file count matches filesystem.
</Step>
</Steps>

## Advanced Location Management

### 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.

### Conditional Indexing

Index based on rules:

```
Only index if:
- Free space > 10GB
- System idle > 5 min
- On AC power
- Network connected
```

### Location Hierarchies

Organize nested locations:

```
Media Library/
├── Photos/          (Deep index)
├── RAW Files/       (Shallow index)  
└── Exports/         (Watch only)
```

Each sublocation can have different settings.

### Cross-Device Locations

Share location references:

<Note>
While files stay on original device, location metadata syncs so other devices know what exists where.
</Note>

## 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.