Rules and Filters

This guide explains how to configure share rules to control which files are processed, how they are filtered, and what happens after processing.

Overview

Share rules allow you to customize file processing behavior on a per-share basis. Rules are configured in the rules object when creating or updating a share via the API.

Key capabilities:

File pattern filtering - Include or exclude files based on filename patterns
Size filtering - Process only files within specified size ranges
Date filtering - Filter files by creation, modification, or access dates
Rolling date windows - Dynamic date filters that update automatically
Content persistence - Control whether file content is retained after upload
Upload control - Enable or disable Microsoft Graph/Copilot integration
ACL overrides - Bypass file-level permissions (see ACL Override Guide
NER analysis - Enable entity extraction (see NER Feature Guide - COMING SOON)

Quick Start

POST /shares
{
  "share_path": "\\\\server\\share",
  "username": "domain\\user",
  "password": "password",
  "realm": "DOMAIN.COM",
  "use_kerberos": "required"
}

Default rules are applied automatically:

All files included (no pattern filtering)
Max file size: 1GB
Min file size: 0 bytes
Content persisted after upload
Microsoft Graph upload enabled

POST /shares
{
  "share_path": "\\\\server\\documents",
  "username": "domain\\user",
  "password": "password",
  "realm": "DOMAIN.COM",
  "use_kerberos": "required",
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf", "*.docx", "*.xlsx"],
    "max_file_size": 104857600,
    "modified_within_days": 90,
    "persist_file_content": false
  }
}

Pattern Filtering

Pattern filtering allows you to control which files are processed based on their filenames and paths.

Include Patterns

Use include_patterns to specify which files should be processed. All other files are ignored.

{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf", "*.docx", "*.xlsx", "*.pptx"]
  }
}

Pattern syntax: | Pattern | Matches | |———|———| | *.pdf | All PDF files | | *.doc* | Files ending in .doc, .docx, .docm, etc. | | report_* | Files starting with “report_” | | **/reports/** | Any file in a “reports” directory at any depth | | **/2024/*.pdf | PDF files in any “2024” directory |

Examples:

// Only process Office documents
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf", "*.docx", "*.xlsx", "*.pptx"]
  }
}

// Only process files in specific directories
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["**/contracts/**", "**/invoices/**", "**/reports/**"]
  }
}

// Combine file types and paths
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["**/legal/*.pdf", "**/finance/*.xlsx", "*.docx"]
  }
}

Exclude Patterns

Use exclude_patterns to specify which files should be ignored. All other files are processed.

{
  "rules": {
    "exclude_patterns": ["*.tmp", "*.bak", "~$*", ".git/*"]
  }
}

Common exclusion patterns:

Pattern	Purpose
`.tmp`, `.bak`	Temporary and backup files
`~$*`	Office temporary files
`.git/`, `.svn/`	Version control directories
`/node_modules/`	Node.js dependencies
`/cache/`	Cache directories
`Thumbs.db`, `.DS_Store`	System files

Examples:

// Exclude temporary and system files
{
  "rules": {
    "exclude_patterns": ["*.tmp", "*.bak", "~$*", "Thumbs.db", ".DS_Store"]
  }
}

// Exclude specific directories
{
  "rules": {
    "exclude_patterns": ["**/archive/**", "**/backup/**", "**/temp/**"]
  }
}

Important: Mutual Exclusivity

⚠️ Warning: You cannot use both include_patterns and exclude_patterns in the same share.

Choose one approach:

Use include_patterns when you want to process only specific file types
Use exclude_patterns when you want to process most files but skip certain ones

// ❌ INVALID - will return an error
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf"],
    "exclude_patterns": ["*.tmp"]
  }
}

// ✅ VALID - use include patterns only
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf"]
  }
}

Pattern Matching Behavior

Case insensitive: *.PDF and *.pdf match the same files
Path separators: Use ** for recursive matching across directories
Wildcards: * matches any characters, ? matches single character

Size Filtering

Control which files are processed based on their size.

Maximum File Size

{
  "rules": {
    "max_file_size": 104857600
  }
}

Files larger than this size (in bytes) are skipped.

Common size values:

Size	Bytes
1 MB	1048576
10 MB	10485760
50 MB	52428800
100 MB	104857600
500 MB	524288000
1 GB	1073741824 (default)

Minimum File Size

{
  "rules": {
    "min_file_size": 1024
  }
}

Files smaller than this size (in bytes) are skipped. Useful for excluding empty or near-empty files.

Combined Size Filtering

{
  "rules": {
    "min_file_size": 1024,
    "max_file_size": 52428800
  }
}

This processes only files between 1 KB and 50 MB.

Date Filtering

Filter files based on their timestamps. Two approaches are available:

Static dates - Fixed date/time boundaries
Rolling windows - Dynamic windows that update automatically

Static Date Filters

Use ISO8601 datetime format for precise date boundaries.

{
  "rules": {
    "created_at_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "created_at_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "modified_time_min": "2024-06-01T00:00:00Z",
    "modified_time_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "accessed_at_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "accessed_at_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z"
  }
}

Available static filters:

Filter	Description
`created_at_min`	Only files created at or after this date
`created_at_max`	Only files created before or at this date
`modified_time_min`	Only files modified at or after this date
`modified_time_max`	Only files modified before or at this date
`accessed_at_min`	Only files accessed at or after this date
`accessed_at_max`	Only files accessed before or at this date

Rolling Window Filters

Rolling windows automatically update based on the current date, making them ideal for ongoing synchronization.

{
  "rules": {
    "modified_within_days": 30
  }
}

This processes only files modified in the last 30 days. The window moves forward automatically with each crawl.

Available rolling filters:

Filter	Description
`created_within_days`	Files created within the last N days
`created_within_months`	Files created within the last N months
`created_within_years`	Files created within the last N years
`modified_within_days`	Files modified within the last N days
`modified_within_months`	Files modified within the last N months
`modified_within_years`	Files modified within the last N years
`accessed_within_days`	Files accessed within the last N days
`accessed_within_months`	Files accessed within the last N months
`accessed_within_years`	Files accessed within the last N years

Examples:

// Process files modified in the last 90 days
{
  "rules": {
    "modified_within_days": 90
  }
}

// Process files created in the last 2 years
{
  "rules": {
    "created_within_years": 2
  }
}

// Process recently accessed files (last 6 months)
{
  "rules": {
    "accessed_within_months": 6
  }
}

Important: Static vs Rolling

⚠️ Warning: You cannot combine static dates and rolling windows for the same timestamp type.

// ❌ INVALID - mixing static and rolling for modified_time
{
  "rules": {
    "modified_time_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "modified_within_days": 30
  }
}

// ✅ VALID - use one approach per timestamp type
{
  "rules": {
    "modified_within_days": 30,
    "created_at_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
  }
}

Content Persistence

Control whether extracted file content is retained in the database after successful upload to Microsoft Graph.

persist_file_content

{
  "rules": {
    "persist_file_content": true
  }
}

Value	Behavior
`true` (default)	Keep extracted content in database after Graph upload
`false`	Clear content from database after successful Graph upload

Use cases for false:

Reduce database storage requirements
Comply with data retention policies
Minimize data exposure risk

📘 Note: The PERSIST_FILE_CONTENT_OVERRIDE environment variable can override this setting at the deployment level for security purposes.

Upload Control

Control whether files are uploaded to Microsoft Graph/Copilot.

enable_copilot_upload

{
  "rules": {
    "enable_copilot_upload": true
  }
}

Value	Behavior
`true` (default)	Upload files to Microsoft Graph for Copilot integration
`false`	Store files in local database only, no Graph upload

Use cases for false:

Local-only deployments without Microsoft 365
Testing and development environments
Customers who want direct database access without Copilot

Complete Rules Reference

All Available Rules

{
  "rules": {
    // Pattern filtering (mutually exclusive)
    "exclude_patterns": ["*.tmp", "*.bak"],
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf", "*.docx"],

    // Size filtering
    "max_file_size": 1073741824,
    "min_file_size": 0,

    // Static date filters
    "created_at_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "created_at_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "modified_time_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "modified_time_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z",
    "accessed_at_min": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "accessed_at_max": "2024-12-31T23:59:59Z",

    // Rolling date filters
    "created_within_days": 30,
    "created_within_months": 6,
    "created_within_years": 2,
    "modified_within_days": 30,
    "modified_within_months": 6,
    "modified_within_years": 2,
    "accessed_within_days": 30,
    "accessed_within_months": 6,
    "accessed_within_years": 2,

    // Content and upload control
    "persist_file_content": true,
    "enable_copilot_upload": true,

    // ACL overrides (see acl-override-guide)
    "acl_override_mode": "everyone",
    "acl_override_principals": [],

    // NER analysis (see ner-feature-guide)
    "enable_ner_analysis": false,
    "ner_schema": "default",
    "ner_entity_types": ["person", "organization", "location"],
    "ner_classifications": {},
    "ner_structured_extraction": {},
    "ner_confidence_threshold": 0.7
  }
}

Default Values

Rule	Default Value
`exclude_patterns`	`[]` (empty)
`include_patterns`	`[]` (empty)
`max_file_size`	`1073741824` (1 GB)
`min_file_size`	`0`
`created_at_min/max`	`null` (no filter)
`modified_time_min/max`	`null` (no filter)
`accessed_at_min/max`	`null` (no filter)
`*_within_days/months/years`	`null` (no filter)
`persist_file_content`	`true`
`enable_copilot_upload`	`true`
`acl_override_mode`	`null` (use file-level ACLs)
`enable_ner_analysis`	`false`

Updating Rules

Use the PATCH endpoint to update rules on existing shares.

Add or Modify Rules

PATCH /shares/{share_id}
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf", "*.docx"],
    "modified_within_days": 60
  }
}

Remove a Rule

Set the rule to its default value or null:

PATCH /shares/{share_id}
{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": [],
    "modified_within_days": null
  }
}

Trigger Re-crawl After Rule Changes

After changing rules, trigger a re-crawl to apply the new filters:

POST /shares/{share_id}/crawl

Common Configurations

Office Documents Only

{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": [
      "*.pdf",
      "*.doc",
      "*.docx",
      "*.xls",
      "*.xlsx",
      "*.ppt",
      "*.pptx"
    ],
    "max_file_size": 104857600
  }
}

Recent Files with Storage Optimization

{
  "rules": {
    "modified_within_months": 6,
    "max_file_size": 52428800,
    "persist_file_content": false
  }
}

Development/Test Environment

{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["*.pdf"],
    "max_file_size": 10485760,
    "enable_copilot_upload": false
  }
}

Legal/Compliance Documents

{
  "rules": {
    "include_patterns": ["**/contracts/**", "**/legal/**", "**/compliance/**"],
    "exclude_patterns": [],
    "created_within_years": 7,
    "persist_file_content": true
  }
}

Exclude Temporary and System Files

{
  "rules": {
    "exclude_patterns": [
      "*.tmp",
      "*.bak",
      "*.swp",
      "~$*",
      "Thumbs.db",
      ".DS_Store",
      "desktop.ini",
      "**/node_modules/**",
      "**/.git/**",
      "**/cache/**"
    ]
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Files Not Being Processed

Check pattern matching: Verify your patterns match the expected files
Check size limits: Ensure files are within min/max size range
Check date filters: Verify files fall within date boundaries
View share rules: GET /shares/{share_id} to confirm rules are saved

Too Many Files Being Processed

Add include patterns: Narrow down to specific file types
Add date filters: Limit to recent files
Reduce max size: Skip large files

Rules Not Taking Effect

Verify rules saved: GET /shares/{share_id} and check rules field
Trigger re-crawl: POST /shares/{share_id}/crawl
Check logs: Look for filtering messages in application logs

Validation Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
“Cannot specify both include_patterns and exclude_patterns”	Both pattern types specified	Use only one pattern type
“Cannot specify both X and static Y”	Mixed rolling and static dates	Use only one date filter type per timestamp

Rules and Filters

Overview

Quick Start

Basic Share with Default Rules

Share with Custom Rules

Pattern Filtering

Include Patterns

Exclude Patterns

Important: Mutual Exclusivity

Pattern Matching Behavior

Size Filtering

Maximum File Size

Minimum File Size

Combined Size Filtering

Date Filtering

Static Date Filters

Rolling Window Filters

Important: Static vs Rolling

Content Persistence

persist_file_content

Upload Control

enable_copilot_upload

Complete Rules Reference

All Available Rules

Default Values

Updating Rules

Add or Modify Rules

Remove a Rule

Trigger Re-crawl After Rule Changes

Common Configurations

Office Documents Only

Recent Files with Storage Optimization

Development/Test Environment

Legal/Compliance Documents

Exclude Temporary and System Files

Troubleshooting

Files Not Being Processed

Too Many Files Being Processed

Rules Not Taking Effect

Validation Errors