Watch folder... any luck?

Has anyone successfully used this function?

The watch folder, intended to automatically add new files placed in that folder (and, theoretically, any subfolders) to the library, does not appear to work as expected.

I am using the latest version on a MacBook Pro with an M1 chip, and despite troubleshooting, it still fails to function—unless there’s a step I’m overlooking.

Hi @CrateDigger, it should work for all sub folders. This feature uses spotlight to find new files, so it could be the volume spotlight index is not working. You can check this by:

  1. Open Terminal
  2. Run the command mdutil -s /Volumes/your_volume_name replace your_volume_name with the relevant name e.g. “Macintosh\ HD”

The output should say something like “Index is enabled”. If not then you may want to try rebuilding the spotlight index - Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support