AI Photo Trainer PhotoRater

Hot Folder Monitoring

Automatically watch folders for new photos and rate them instantly upon arrival. Perfect for tethered shooting, network folders, and automated workflows.

What Is Hot Folder Monitoring?

Hot Folder Monitoring continuously watches designated folders for new photos and automatically analyzes them as soon as they appear. This feature is ideal for:

  • Tethered Shooting: Analyze photos in real-time as they transfer from camera to computer
  • Shared Network Folders: Monitor folders where photographers upload their work
  • Import Directories: Automatically process photos from memory card imports
  • Automated Workflows: Integrate with existing photo management systems

Efficiency Boost: Hot folder monitoring eliminates manual photo selection, saving significant time when processing large batches of images.

Setting Up Hot Folders

Method 1: From Settings

  1. Click the gear icon in the sidebar to open Settings
  2. Navigate to the "Hot Folders" tab
  3. Click "Add Hot Folder" button
  4. Browse and select the folder you want to monitor
  5. Click "Save"
  6. The hot folder starts monitoring immediately

[IMAGE: Hot Folder Settings Page]

Settings showing hot folder configuration

Hot folder configuration in Settings

[IMAGE: Add Hot Folder Dialog]

Browse dialog for selecting folder

Add hot folder browse dialog

Method 2: From Images View (Coming Soon)

  1. Go to the Images view
  2. Click "Add Hot Folder" button
  3. Browse and select folder
  4. Monitoring starts automatically

Multiple Folders: You can monitor multiple hot folders simultaneously. Each folder operates independently and can be individually paused or removed.

Hot Folder Behavior

Automatic Analysis Process

When a new photo is added to a monitored folder, the following happens automatically:

  1. Detection: Application detects the new file immediately
  2. Session Filter: Checks if file was created after current session started (v0.10.0+)
  3. Wait Period: Waits 2 seconds to ensure the file is fully copied/transferred
  4. Analysis: Begins AI analysis (takes 5-10 seconds)
  5. Storage: Adds photo to database with quality rating and metrics
  6. Notification: Sends update notification to Images view
  7. Display: Photo appears automatically in the grid

Session-Aware Filtering (v0.10.0+)

Starting with version 0.10.0, hot folder monitoring includes session-aware timestamp filtering to prevent re-processing old images.

The Problem It Solves

Previously, if you had images remaining in your hot folder from a previous session, the app would re-process them whenever they were modified or touched, potentially associating old images with your new session.

How It Works

  1. When you start a photographer session via PIN login, the app sets a session_start_time timestamp
  2. When a file event occurs (created/modified), the hot folder checks the file's creation time
  3. If the file was created before the session started → Skip (log and ignore)
  4. If the file was created after the session started → Process normally

Non-Destructive Behavior

  • Images stay in the hot folder after processing (non-destructive workflow)
  • No files are deleted or moved
  • Only NEW images created during the current session are processed
  • Old images are safely ignored even if modified or touched

Example Scenario: You have 20 images in your hot folder from yesterday's session. You start a new session today and add 10 new images. The app will process only the 10 new images and skip the 20 old ones, even if they're modified.

Move/Rename Support (v0.11.1+)

Available in v0.11.1+ — Hot folder monitoring now correctly handles files that are moved or renamed into the folder, not just newly created files.

The Problem It Solves

In previous versions, if you renamed or moved a file into a hot folder (rather than copying a new file), it would be skipped. This happened because:

  • The session-aware filter checked the file's creation time
  • On Windows, moved/renamed files keep their original creation timestamp
  • Files created before the session started were incorrectly filtered out

Example (before v0.11.1):

  • You start a session at 2:00 PM
  • You rename IMG_001.jpg to processed_001.jpg at 2:05 PM
  • File's creation time is still September 2024 (when originally created)
  • System incorrectly skips the file because creation time < session start

How It Works Now

Move and rename events now bypass the creation time check entirely:

  • File Created: Checks creation time (session-aware filtering applies)
  • File Moved/Renamed: Bypasses creation time check, processes immediately

This means you can now:

  • Rename files into the hot folder from a parent directory
  • Move files from other folders into the hot folder
  • Batch rename files and have them processed correctly

Workflow Support: This fix supports workflows where image editing software renames files in place, or where you organize photos by moving them into monitored folders.

Log Messages

Check the application logs to verify hot folder monitoring is working: 

[HOTFOLDER] Session start time set to: Tue Nov 05 12:30:45 2025
[HOTFOLDER] Only files created after this time will be processed
[HOTFOLDER] File event detected: D:\Photos\image001.jpg
[HOTFOLDER] Skipping file from previous session: D:\Photos\image001.jpg
[HOTFOLDER]   File created: Tue Nov 05 12:15:30 2025
[HOTFOLDER]   Session started: Tue Nov 05 12:30:45 2025
[HOTFOLDER] File created after session start - will process
[HOTFOLDER]   File created: Tue Nov 05 12:31:20 2025
[HOTFOLDER] >>> PROCESSING NEW FILE: D:\Photos\image002.jpg <<<
[HOTFOLDER] Move/rename event - bypassing creation time check
[HOTFOLDER] >>> PROCESSING MOVED FILE: D:\Photos\renamed_image.jpg <<<

Supported File Formats

Requirement Details
File Types JPG, JPEG, PNG
Minimum Resolution 640 × 480 pixels
Maximum File Size 50 MB
File State Must be fully written (not locked by another process)

Monitoring Status Indicators

  • Green Indicator: Hot folder is actively monitoring
  • Gray Indicator: Monitoring paused or folder inaccessible

View all hot folder statuses in Settings → Hot Folders.

[IMAGE: Active Hot Folder Status]

Settings showing green indicator

Active hot folder with green status indicator

Performance Note: Monitoring many large images simultaneously may impact system performance. For best results, limit to 2-3 active hot folders at a time.

Managing Hot Folders

View Active Folders

To see all registered hot folders:

  1. Go to Settings → Hot Folders
  2. View the complete list of all monitored folders
  3. Check status indicators (active/paused)
  4. See the folder path and last activity timestamp

Pause/Resume Monitoring

Temporarily pause monitoring without removing the folder:

  1. Navigate to Settings → Hot Folders
  2. Click the folder you want to pause
  3. Toggle the "Active" switch to OFF
  4. The folder remains registered but stops monitoring
  5. Toggle back to ON to resume monitoring

Remove Hot Folder

To permanently remove a hot folder from monitoring:

  1. Go to Settings → Hot Folders
  2. Click the folder you want to remove
  3. Click the "Remove" button
  4. Confirm the removal in the dialog

Data Preservation: Removing a hot folder does NOT delete any photos already analyzed from that folder. It only stops future monitoring. All previously rated photos remain in your database.

Important Notes

  • Persistence: Hot folder settings persist after application restart
  • Multiple Folders: You can monitor multiple folders simultaneously
  • Folder Availability: The folder must exist and be accessible (drive connected) for monitoring to work
  • Network Folders: Network folders are supported but must be mapped as a drive letter (e.g., Z:\Photos\)
  • Permissions: Ensure the application has read access to the monitored folder

Next Steps