Watch Folder

TODO (New Screenshot): Watch configuration and task panel (App 2.0) Include: watch config list (running/paused), create-config dialog, history list, and retry actions. Suggested filename: watch-folder-panel-v2-en.png

Scope

Watch Folder automates folder-based media processing:

• Watch config CRUD (create/edit/pause/resume)
• New-file auto queueing
• Active/history task tracking
• Retry, batch actions, and auto export

Use Cases

• Continuous meeting recording ingestion
• Team media pipeline automation
• Overnight offline transcription processing

Steps

1. Open Watch from the left navigation.
2. Create a watch config (path, recursion, export behavior).
3. Start the config and monitor active/history tasks.
4. Retry failed tasks and handle duplicates as needed.
5. Periodically verify export paths and disk capacity.

Configuration Tips

• Keep watch folders single-purpose; avoid mixed random file types.
• Use naming patterns (source/date/topic) for traceability.
• Split very large roots by project or month to reduce initial scan cost.
• Avoid high-churn temp folders as primary watch targets.

Term Explanations

• Recursive watch: include subfolders; wider coverage with more file events.
• History tasks: completed/failed jobs for audit and retry.
• Duplicate policy: keep/skip/overwrite handling for same-source collisions.

Example Workflow (Automatic Meeting Ingestion)

1. Route all meeting exports to a single source folder.
2. Create a watch config with auto-export enabled.
3. Only triage failed tasks daily instead of manually importing every file.

Real Scenario (Overnight Team Pipeline)

For teams producing media daily, Watch Folder works best as a fixed nightly pipeline:

1. Move all new assets into agreed source folders before end of day.
2. Let watch configs queue and process tasks overnight.
3. Next morning, triage failures only and update recurring root causes.

FAQ

Q: Why are new files not being processed?
A: Verify config status, path accessibility, and media format support.

Q: Can I watch multiple folders?
A: Yes, with limits based on account entitlements.

Q: Will watch tasks affect manual transcription speed?
A: Yes, they share compute resources; tune concurrency accordingly.

Common Mistakes and Better Alternatives

• Mistake: watching raw download folders directly
  Better: stage files into dedicated processing folders first.
• Mistake: one huge folder for every project
  Better: partition by project/month for faster scan and debugging.
• Mistake: leaving failed tasks unreviewed for days
  Better: run a short daily failure triage routine.

Backlog Handling Strategy

1. Lower concurrency and pause non-critical watch configs.
2. Clear failed tasks first, then process long-tail history.
3. Re-encode oversized files if single-task duration is excessive.

Limitations

• Status: Stable (non-Beta), with runtime behavior tuned across releases.
• Limits and advanced options depend on account policy.
• Network/removable drives can interrupt watch reliability.
• Initial scans on very large folders may take time.
• Platform: Windows and macOS both support watch flows, but file-event delay and permission rules differ.