# Ignore during Library Scan **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Suggestions\ **Tags:** library-management\ **Created:** [March 13, 2024, 6:21am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010 "2024-03-13T06:21:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MartynK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@MartynK](https://forums.plex.tv/u/MartynK)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 6:21am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010/1 "2024-03-13T06:21:08Z")
The ability to remove a directory in the library from additional scanning. I personally try and keep my “finished” TV etc in one set of directories and new stuff in another so its easier to backup. Plex does not need to scan folders that have “finished” so I would like the ability to mark them as ignore from further scanning. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010/2 "2024-03-13T06:56:06Z")
If you’ve organized your library folder according to the official naming schema, Plex should only touch each show folder to determine if the „last modified“ timestamp of the directory has changed since it’s been last scanned. No additional „heavy lifting“. That being said… there’s already an existing suggestion thread discussing an option to flag single items or folders as „completed“, excluding them from future scans. Please comment/vote in that thread in order to help us avoid distracting or cannibalizing votes. Unless I’m missing some unique aspect of your suggestion I’ll close this thread as a duplicate. > [@"Lock" item, library, or folder to speed up scans](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-item-library-or-folder-to-speed-up-scans/314089): > > Problem: Some of my libraries are very large. I have tens of thousands of photos, for example. I’ve had to break these into decades to keep the library sizes down, but even then scanning one takes a very looooong time. I have similarly had to break my movie, music, and TV libraries up by genre, and have quite a few of them. Even then, some genres are quite large and take a very long time to scan. I’ve had to disable periodic scans, but even then when I add an item it can take a very long time.… ---
**Author:** ![MartynK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@MartynK](https://forums.plex.tv/u/MartynK)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 8:26am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010/3 "2024-03-13T08:26:20Z")
Hi, I guess the other feature suggestion is very similar, so yes, close the thread if you feel the need. I am using the official naming schema, even so scanning through 1000’s of directories on my NAS drives is slow, even with everything plugged in to a 2.5g network and fast disks. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 8:50am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010/4 "2024-03-13T08:50:49Z")
Side note: Linux platforms work differently than Windows when it comes to tracking changes in the file system. That includes many, or even most, NAS systems such as QNAP, Synology etc. Linux relies on a table in kernel memory which keeps tab on where changes are made in the file system. The size of that table (i.e. the assigned RAM area) defines how many folders can be tracked. Sometimes this designated RAM can get too small if a lot of folders are added. See: [Linux Tips - #9 by ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-tips/276247/9) ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 9:23am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/ignore-during-library-scan/872010/5 "2024-03-13T09:23:53Z")
2024 clean-up: duplicate