Go to Subfolder - Question

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Moderator: Mr_Noodle

Go to Subfolder - Question Wed Jan 07, 2026 7:05 pm • by ramprecht
Hi,
I read all the details about going into subfolders and nested conditions etc.
However I still have one question.

The recommended rule for working with items in subfolders is the creation of the documented "Go to Subfolder" rule.
I have done that, meaning however subsequently I see a constant "Match" of this rule against any subfolder in the monitored folder.

My question now is about this "Matching".
Does it mean that Hazel will constantly "run" these matched folders in a kind of regular polling?
Or does the "Match" in such case simply mean: the other rules are applied on these "matched" folders and subfolders?

I want to avoid that Hazel is constantly "polling" the list of folders, because I will have hundreds / thousands of them.
Idealy, Hazel should recognise in efficient internal ways that there was a change on a file inside one of these subfolders and then act accordingly only on this one.

As said, continuous running the "Go to Subfolder" rule for all thousands of folders will not be good.

So, thanks if someone can clarify!

Thank you!
Christian
ramprecht
 
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Re: Go to Subfolder - Question Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:54 am • by Mr_Noodle
Normally, it only runs when there are changes or your date/time-based conditions need to be checked. The one big exception is network shares, which have to be polled because they do not provide the events to the operating system for file changes.

You can also reduce resource usage by limiting which folders Hazel goes into. You can modify the Go into subfolders rules to only match the folders you care about. This isn't always possible, but if it is, it's highly recommended you do something along these lines.
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Re: Go to Subfolder - Question Fri Jan 09, 2026 6:16 am • by ramprecht
Thank you.
Lets say I am monitoring a parent with 1000 subdirectories:
If there is a change in a file in one subdirectory, will it only run the rules on this single file in the one subdirectory? Of will it go through all 1000 subdirectories?

Thanks for final clarification.
Overall it looks OK from the behaviour, just trying to understand.

Best Regards, Christian
ramprecht
 
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2026 6:49 pm

Re: Go to Subfolder - Question Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:25 am • by Mr_Noodle
It should but you should test it out in your situation to make sure that's what's happening. You can view the logs to see what's going on.
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