Suggestions to improve the unwanted folder feature, to stop partial and undesired files from interfering. #15383

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opened 2026-02-22 02:04:50 -05:00 by deekerman · 2 comments

deekerman commented

2026-02-22 02:04:50 -05:00

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Originally created by @mzso on GitHub (Jan 13, 2024).

Suggestion

The unwanted folder feature seems to be coming back, so I want to make a few suggestions. My main issue with .unwanted, apart from the outright bugs such as several, ".unwanted" folders appearing within the torrent's folder structure was that the folder and the files were in the way. The unwanted folder and its files were inside the torrent's folder stricture, so easily copied accidentally, or used when creating a new torrent, or just plain loaded into apps for use.

So I think improvements could be made to get them out of the way:

Firstly they're junk partial files and literally unwanted files, so it should be moved outside of the torrent's folder.
Measures should definitely be taken to avoid accidentally loading them, such as adding an extension such as *.unwanted or the reuse the *.!qb extension for this separately from downloading. (The correct extension is often needed for downloads, to preview files)
Other measure could be considered. Such as moving the unwanted files with the parts file in a shared folder to decrease clutter further.
- Restrict read access to avoid accidental copies, etc. Not sure if it would introduce problems though.

Use case

I believe these would be useful in any case when you uncheck files.

Extra info/examples/attachments

No response

Originally created by @mzso on GitHub (Jan 13, 2024). ### Suggestion The unwanted folder feature seems to be coming back, so I want to make a few suggestions. My main issue with .unwanted, apart from the outright bugs such as several, ".unwanted" folders appearing within the torrent's folder structure was that the folder and the files were in the way. The unwanted folder and its files were inside the torrent's folder stricture, so easily copied accidentally, or used when creating a new torrent, or just plain loaded into apps for use. So I think improvements could be made to get them out of the way: * Firstly they're junk partial files and literally unwanted files, so it should be moved outside of the torrent's folder. * Measures should definitely be taken to avoid accidentally loading them, such as adding an extension such as *.unwanted or the reuse the *.!qb extension for this _separately_ from downloading. (The correct extension is often needed for downloads, to preview files) * Other measure could be considered. Such as moving the unwanted files with the parts file in a shared folder to decrease clutter further. * Restrict read access to avoid accidental copies, etc. Not sure if it would introduce problems though. ### Use case I believe these would be useful in any case when you uncheck files. ### Extra info/examples/attachments _No response_

deekerman added the

Feature request

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2026-02-22 02:04:50 -05:00

deekerman commented

2026-02-22 02:04:55 -05:00

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@Br31zh commented on GitHub (Apr 5, 2024):

I second this, since I’m in this case: with the preallocation feature (I need it to get an accurate space evaluation and performances reasons), all the files seems to be complete (with the correct size I mean), they are just unusable. But now I need to copy hundreds of files from a torrent, but only 20% of them, and I don’t have any way to differentiate them. Manually selecting what I need to copy to replicate what I’ve already done in qBittorrent isn’t great (it was already painful the first time…).

@Br31zh commented on GitHub (Apr 5, 2024): I second this, since I’m in this case: with the preallocation feature (I need it to get an accurate space evaluation and performances reasons), all the files seems to be complete (with the correct size I mean), they are just unusable. But now I need to copy hundreds of files from a torrent, but only 20% of them, and I don’t have any way to differentiate them. Manually selecting what I need to copy to replicate what I’ve already done in qBittorrent isn’t great (it was already painful the first time…).

deekerman commented

2026-02-22 02:05:00 -05:00

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@xavier2k6 commented on GitHub (May 25, 2025):

ANNOUNCEMENT!

For anybody coming across this "Feature Request" & would like/love to see a potential implementation in the future!
Here are some options available to you:

Please select/click the 👍 &/or ❤ reactions in the original/opening post of this ticket.
Please feel free (If you have the "skillset") to create a "Pull Request" implementing what's being requested in this ticket.
(new/existing contributors/developers are always welcome)

DO:

Provide constructive feedback.
Display how other projects implemented same/similar etc.

DO NOT:

Add a "Bump", "me too", "2nd/3rd" etc. or "criticizing" comment(s).
(These will be disregarded/hidden as "spam/abuse/off-topic" etc. as they don't provide anything constructive.)

@xavier2k6 commented on GitHub (May 25, 2025): ## ANNOUNCEMENT! For anybody coming across this **_"Feature Request"_** & would like/love to see a potential implementation in the future! **Here are some options available to you:** 1. Please select/click the 👍 **&/or** ❤ `reactions` in the original/opening post of this ticket. 2. Please feel free _(If you have the "skillset")_ to create a **_"Pull Request"_** implementing what's being requested in this ticket. **_(new/existing contributors/developers are always welcome)_** ____ **DO:** * Provide constructive feedback. * Display how other projects implemented same/similar etc. **DO NOT:** * Add a "Bump", "me too", "2nd/3rd" etc. or "criticizing" comment(s). **(These will be disregarded/hidden as "spam/abuse/off-topic" etc. as they don't provide anything constructive.)**