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Exclusions and .mouziignore

Keep selected files out of rules and understand Mouzi's built-in safety skips.

Public release: Mouzi v0.2.1. Features planned for a later version are labelled on the page.

Mouzi applies built-in exclusions and then reads an optional .mouziignore file from each watched folder.

Built-in exclusions

Mouzi ignores:

  • incomplete or temporary downloads ending in .crdownload, .part, .download or .tmp
  • names beginning with ., including .mouziignore
  • common operating-system files such as desktop.ini, Thumbs.db, pagefile.sys and autorun.inf
  • files with the Windows hidden or system attribute

Zero-byte files are not automatically excluded. File-lock checking is a separate safety option under Settings → General and can be disabled.

Create a .mouziignore file

Place .mouziignore in the top level of a watched folder. You can edit it yourself or manage its entries in Mouzi’s settings.

# Keep an installer in Downloads
setup-obs-studio.exe

# Keep all ISO images
*.iso

The format supports:

  • one file-name pattern per line
  • * as a wildcard matching any sequence of characters
  • multiple * characters in one pattern
  • blank lines and full-line comments beginning with #

Matching is case-insensitive on Windows and case-sensitive on Linux.

Mouzi currently watches files only in the top level of a selected folder. Directory patterns such as keep-here/ do not provide recursive folder protection because recursive watching is not implemented.

Literal # characters and inline comments

Inline comments are supported in Mouzi 0.1.6 and a literal hash can be escaped as \#. For example:

report\#final.pdf # keep the approved copy

Grace period and lock checking

Exclusions are not a substitute for download safety. In Silent mode Mouzi also waits for the configured grace period, five minutes by default, before processing a new file. The setting accepts values from zero to seven days. With lock checking enabled, a file that is still in use is left in place.

Choosing Organize now or running a scheduled pass bypasses the grace period but still respects lock checking and exclusions.

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