---
title: Add a File System source
slug: '1766'
canonical_url: https://docs.coveo.com/en/1766/
collection: index-content
source_format: adoc
---
# Add a File System source

A File System [source](https://docs.coveo.com/en/246/) allows members with the [required privileges](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3151/) to retrieve and make searchable the content of files shared over a network via the [Coveo Crawling Module](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3260/).

**Example**

Your company has a shared network drive on which letter, PowerPoint presentation, and email signature templates are available to all employees.
You decide to index the whole drive to make its content searchable via your Coveo-powered search page.

When you have the required privileges, you can add files shared over a network to a [Coveo organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/185/).

> **Leading practice**
>
> The number of [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) that a source processes per hour (crawling speed) depends on various factors, such as network bandwidth and source configuration.
> See [About crawling speed](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2078/) for information on what can impact crawling speed, as well as possible solutions.

## Source key characteristics

The following table presents the key characteristics of a File System source.

[%header,cols="2,3,2,3"]
|===
2+|Features
^|Supported
|Additional information

2+|Windows Server version
^|2025, 2022, 2019, and 2016
|

.3+|[Content update operations](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2039/)
|[refresh](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2710/)
^|[x]
|

|[rescan](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2711/)
^|[check]
|[Takes place every day by default](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1933/)

|[rebuild](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2712/)
^|[check]
|

.3+|[Content security](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779/) options
|[Same users and groups as in your content system](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#same-users-and-groups-as-in-your-content-system)
^|[check]
|

|[Specific users and groups](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#specific-users-and-groups)
^|[check]
|

|[Everyone](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#everyone)
^|[check]
|

.3+|[Metadata indexing for search](#index-metadata)

|Automatic mapping of [metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/218/) to [fields](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/) that have the same name
2+a|This setting is disabled by default and [not recommended for this source type](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1640#about-the-performfieldmappingusingallorigins-setting).

|Automatically indexed [metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/218/)
2+a|Examples of [auto-populated default fields](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1833#field-origin) (no user-defined metadata required):  
 

* `author`

* `clickableuri`

* `date`

* `filename`

* `filetype`

* `language` (auto-detected from item content)

After a content update, [inspect your item field values](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2053#inspect-search-results) in the **Content Browser**.

|Extracted but not indexed metadata
2+a|The File System source extracts file system metadata such as file properties and attributes.  
 

After a rebuild, review the [**View and map metadata**](https://docs.coveo.com/en/m9ti0339#view-and-map-metadata-subpage) subpage for the list of indexed metadata, and [index additional metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/m9ti0339#index-metadata).
|===

## Add a File System source

Before you start, ensure that the content to index and make searchable is shared over a network.

Also ensure that the [Coveo Crawling Module is installed](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3261/) on a server that has access to the file system of which you want to retrieve the content.

Follow the instructions below to add a File System source.

. On the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page, click **Add source**.

. In the **Add a source of content** panel, click the **File System** source tile.

. Configure your source.

> **Leading practice**
>
> It's best to create or edit your source in your sandbox organization first.
> Once you've confirmed that it indexes the desired content, you can copy your source configuration to your production organization, either [with a snapshot](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3239/) or manually.
> 
> See [About non-production organizations](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2959/) for more information and best practices regarding sandbox organizations.

### "Configuration" tab

In the **Add a File System Source** panel, the **Configuration** tab is selected by default.
It contains your source's general and authentication information, as well as other parameters.

#### General information

##### Name

Enter a name for your source.

> **Leading practice**
>
> A source name can't be modified once it's saved, therefore be sure to use a short and descriptive name, using letters, numbers, hyphens (`-`), and underscores (`_`). Avoid spaces and other special characters.

##### Path

Enter the network path to a file system folder or a file.

**Examples**

* For a file located on the server where the Crawling Module is installed: `C:\Users\adminuser\Documents`

* For a file located on a different server than that where the Crawling Module is installed, but on the same network: `file:\\my-server\Users\adminuser\Documents`

To exclude certain folders or files, first configure and save your source with a broad path.
Then, see [Refine the content to index](#refine-the-content-to-index).

##### Project

Use the **Project** selector to associate your source with one or more Coveo [projects](https://docs.coveo.com/en/n7ef0517/).

#### "Authentication" section

In the **Authentication** section, provide credentials for Coveo to use to access your file system.

Depending on your environment, select either of the following:

* **Use Crawling Module identity**: Coveo will use the administrator credentials of the server where the [selected Crawling Module](#crawling-module-section) is installed.

* **Use specific credentials**: Coveo will use the credentials you provide to access your content.
For example, you may need to select this option if your [Crawling Module](#crawling-module-section) is installed on your server with a non-administrator user identity, and Coveo must use administrator credentials to crawl your files.

#### "Crawling Module" section

If you haven't already installed the Coveo Crawling Module on a server that has access to the content to index, click **Download** to do so.

If you have [more than one Crawling Module linked to this organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3271#deploying-multiple-crawling-module-instances), select the one with which you want to pair your source.
If you change the Crawling Module instance paired with your source, a successful [rebuild](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3390#refresh-rescan-or-rebuild-sources) is required for your change to apply.

### "Items" tab

On the **Items** tab, you can specify how the source handles items based on their file type or content type.

#### File types

File types let you define how the source handles [items](https://docs.coveo.com/en/210/) based on their file extension or content type.
For each file type, you can specify whether to index the item content and [metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/218/), only the item metadata, or neither.

You should fine-tune the file type configurations with the objective of indexing only the content that's relevant to your users.

**Example**

Your repository contains `.pdf` files, but you don't want them to appear in search results.
You click **Extensions** and then, for the `.pdf` extension, you change the **Default action** and **Action on error** values to `Ignore item`.

For more details about this feature, see [File type handling](https://docs.coveo.com/en/l3qg9275/).

#### Content and images

If you want Coveo to extract text from image files or PDF files containing images, enable the appropriate option.
The extracted text is processed as item data, meaning that it's fully searchable and will appear in the item [Quick view](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2760#search-result-quick-view).

> **Note**
>
> When OCR is enabled, ensure the source's relevant [file type configurations](https://docs.coveo.com/en/l3qg9275/) index the item content.
> Indexing the item's metadata only or ignoring the item will prevent OCR from being applied.

See [Enable optical character recognition](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2937/) for details on this feature.

### "Content security" tab

Select who will be able to access the source items through a Coveo-powered [search interface](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2741/).
For details on the content security options, see [Content security](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779/).

**If you select "Same users and groups as in your content system"**
<details><summary>Details</summary>

If you select [**Same users and groups as in your content system**](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#same-users-and-groups-as-in-your-content-system), Coveo will retrieve the Active Directory permissions with which your file system is secured in order to [replicate them in your search interface](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1719/).
Therefore, each user will only see in their search results the content they can access in the original file system.

To enable this option, you must allow Coveo to connect to your file system with Active Directory on-premises credentials.

**Active Directory username and password**

Enter credentials to grant Coveo access to your Active Directory.

The credentials must belong to a dedicated administrator account that has access to the content you want to index.
See [Source credentials leading practices](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1920/).

**Email attributes**

By default, Coveo retrieves the email address associated to each security identity from the `mail` attribute.
Optionally, you can specify additional or different attributes to check.
Should an attribute contain more than one value, Coveo uses the first one.

**Enable Transport Layer Security (TLS)**

Select this option to use a TLS protocol to retrieve your security identities.
If you do, we strongly recommend selecting StartTLS if you can.
Since LDAPS is a much older protocol, you should only select this value if StartTLS is incompatible with your environment.

**Expand well-knowns**

Select this option if you want the users that are included in your Active Directory [well-known](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1603#granted-security-identities) security identifiers to be granted access to the indexed content.
Supported well-known SIDs are: `Everyone`, `Authenticated Users`, `Domain Admins`, `Domain Users`, and `Anonymous Users`.

When enabling this option, you can expect an increase in the duration of the security identity provider refresh operation.

[TIP]
**Leading practice**

</details>
If your entire content is secured with `Everyone` or `Authenticated users`, we recommend selecting the [**Everyone** content security option](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#everyone) instead.
The result will be the same, that is, all users will be able to access the database content through your search interface, and Coveo's update operations will be more efficient.
#### **Expand trusted domains**

Select this option to have Coveo connect to your root domain to get the security identities of your other domains through the root domain.

If your environment contains more than one domain, you can establish a bidirectional or outbound cross-link relationship between the root domain of your Crawling Module server and your additional domains.
When you do so, these domains trust your root domain, and Coveo can get their security identities through this root domain.

When enabling this option, you can expect an increase in the duration of the security identity provider refresh operation.
Moreover, if a linked domain is unreachable, Coveo stops the security identity provider refresh operation.

**Permissions to index**

By default, only NTFS permission entries are indexed and [replicated in your search interface](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1719/).
Select **Share and NTFS permissions** if you also want to index and enforce share permissions.
When you index NTFS and share permissions, Coveo combines these systems.
Therefore, each end user must be allowed to access an item in both [permission models](https://docs.coveo.com/en/225/) to see this item in their search results.

For further information on share and NTFS permissions, see [Share and NTFS Permissions on a File Server](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-R2-and-2008/cc754178(v=ws.11)?redirectedfrom=MSDN).
##### === "Access" tab







. On the **Access** tab, specify whether each group (and API key, if applicable) in your [Coveo organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/185/) can view or edit the current source.

For example, when creating a new source, you could decide that members of Group A can edit its configuration, while Group B can only view it.

For more information, see [Custom access level](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3151#custom-access-level).
On the **Access** tab, specify whether each group (and API key, if applicable) in your [Coveo organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/185/) can view or edit the current source.

For example, when creating a new source, you could decide that members of Group A can edit its configuration, while Group B can only view it.

For more information, see [Custom access level](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3151#custom-access-level).

### Build the source

. Finish adding or editing your source:

** When you're done editing the source and want to make your changes effective, click **Add and build source**/**Save and rebuild source**.

** When you want to save your source configuration changes without starting a build/rebuild, such as when you know you want to make other changes soon, click **Add source**/**Save**.
On the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page, click **Launch build** or **Start required rebuild** when you're ready to make your changes effective and index your content.

> **Leading practice**
>
> By default, a Jira Software source indexes the entire Jira Software instance content.
> To index only certain projects, click **Save**, and then specify the desired address patterns in your [source JSON configuration](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1685/) before launching the initial build.
> See [Add source filters](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#add-source-filters) for further information.

. On the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page, follow the progress of your source addition or modification.

. Once the source is built or rebuilt, [review its content in the Content Browser](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2053/).

. Optionally, consider [editing or adding mappings](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1640/).


> **Note**
>
> If you selected **Specific URLs** or **User profiles** in the [**Content**](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1739#content) section, some additional items will appear in the Content Browser.
> To retrieve user profiles, Coveo must crawl your SharePoint Online instance, including your host site collection and the documents it contains.
> Items encountered during this process are also retrieved and therefore appear in the Content Browser.

### Index metadata

To use [metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/218/) values in [search interface](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2741/) [facets](https://docs.coveo.com/en/198/) or result templates, the metadata must be [mapped](https://docs.coveo.com/en/217/) to [fields](https://docs.coveo.com/en/200/).
Coveo automatically [maps](https://docs.coveo.com/en/217/) only a subset of the metadata it extracts.
You must map any additional metadata to fields manually.

> **Note**
>
> Not clear on the purpose of indexing metadata?
> Watch [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmmmVJ3AWi0).

. On the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page, click your source, and then click **More** > **View and map metadata** in the Action bar.

. Review the default [metadata](https://docs.coveo.com/en/218/) that your source is extracting from your content.

. Map any currently _not indexed_ metadata that you want to use in facets or result templates to fields.

.. Click the metadata and then, at the top right, click **Add to Index**.

.. In the **Apply a mapping on all item types of a source** panel, select the field you want to map the metadata to, or [add a new field](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1833#add-a-field) if none of the existing fields are appropriate.

> **Note**
>
> For advanced mapping configurations, like applying a mapping to a specific item type, see [Manage mappings](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1640#manage-mappings).

.. Click **Apply mapping**.

. Return to the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page.

. To reindex your source with your new mappings, click your source, and then click **More** > **Rebuild** in the Action bar.

. Once the source is rebuilt, review your item field values.
They should now include the values of the metadata you selected to index.

.. On the [**Sources**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/content/sources/)) page, click your source, and then click **More** > **Open in Content Browser** in the Action bar.

.. Select the card of the item for which you want to inspect properties, and then click **Properties** in the Action bar.

.. In the panel that appears, select the **Fields** tab.

## Refine the content to index

You may want to avoid indexing certain subfolders, or to index only a few of them.
To do so:

. If not already done, create and save your source with a broad [bucket URL](#amazon-s3-bucket-url).

. In your [source JSON configuration](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1685/), enter an [address filter](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#add-source-filters) to refine the targeted content.

> **Important**
>
> Your [bucket URL](#amazon-s3-bucket-url) must match one of your inclusion [`addressPatterns`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#addresspatterns-array-required) and not match any of your exclusion `addressPatterns`.
You may want to avoid indexing certain pages, or to index only a few of them.
To do so:

. If not already done, create and save your source with a broad [URL](#urls).

. In your [source JSON configuration](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1685/), enter an [address filter](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#add-source-filters) to refine the targeted content.

> **Important**
>
> Your [URL](#urls) must match one of your inclusion [`addressPatterns`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#addresspatterns-array-required) and not match any of your exclusion `addressPatterns`.
> Otherwise, Coveo will return a `No Items Indexed` error.
You may want to avoid indexing certain subfolders, or to index only a few of them.
To do so:

. If not already done, create and save your source with a broad [path](#path).

. In your [source JSON configuration](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1685/), enter an [address filter](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#add-source-filters) to refine the targeted content.

> **Important**
>
> Your [path](#path) must match one of your inclusion [`addressPatterns`](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2006#addresspatterns-array-required) and not match any of your exclusion `addressPatterns`.

## Limitation

Changing the Crawling Module paired with a File System source may create duplicate items in your index.

This is because the new Crawling Module doesn't have access to the previous Crawling Module's database, and therefore doesn't know which items have already been indexed.
As a result, the new Crawling Module indexes your content again, creating duplicates.

To avoid this, instead of changing the Crawling Module paired with your source, you can [duplicate this source](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3390#duplicate-a-source), and then edit the duplicate source to pair it with the desired Crawling Module.
Then, you can delete the original source.

Alternatively, you can delete the duplicate items created by the Crawling Module switch.
This can however only be done via the ["Delete old items" Push API call](https://docs.coveo.com/en/78#delete-old-items).

To make this call, you need your [organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/n1ce5273/) and [source ID](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3390#copy-a-source-name-or-id)s.
You also need the ordering ID of the rebuild operation that followed the Crawling Module change.
You can get it from either the [**Log Browser**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/logs/browser/) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/logs/browser/) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/logs/browser/) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/logs/browser/)) or the [Crawling Module logs](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3272/), under `The initial ordering ID for the current refresh operation is:`.

## What's next?

* [Schedule source updates](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1933/).

* If you're [using the Crawling Module to retrieve your content](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1612/), consider [subscribing to deactivation notifications](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3271#subscribing-to-crawling-module-notifications) to receive an alert when a Crawling Module component becomes obsolete and stops the content crawling process.

If you're [using the Crawling Module to retrieve your content](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1612/), consider [subscribing to deactivation notifications](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3271#subscribing-to-crawling-module-notifications) to receive an alert when a Crawling Module component becomes obsolete and stops the content crawling process.

* Consider [subscribing to deactivation notifications](https://docs.coveo.com/en/3271#subscribing-to-crawling-module-notifications) to receive an alert when a Crawling Module component becomes obsolete and stops the content crawling process.