unc-file-watcher/README.md

UNC File Watcher

This project is a Go-based local web console for watching files in UNC paths and copying or moving them to local directories.

After build, the program is a single exe. The target machine does not need Go installed.

Features

The program supports two rule types at the same time:

• Archive rule Watches .tar.gz Copies or moves files to a zip directory Skips when the zip directory already has a file with the same name Skips when the unzip directory already has an extracted folder with the same name In move mode, if the existing archive or extracted folder is verified as the same content, the source file is removed

• Generic file rule Watches other file types by extension list Only needs UNC source path + local target path Does not use unzip Supports two dedupe modes In move mode, duplicate files are removed from the source only after hash verification

Generic File Dedupe

The generic file rule supports these dedupe modes:

• Same name and same size This is the default mode If the target directory already has a file with the same name and the same size, the file is skipped If the target directory already has a file with the same name but a different size, it is treated as a conflict and skipped without overwrite In move mode, the program still verifies SHA-256 before deleting the source duplicate

• Same name and same hash When the target directory already has a file with the same name, the program computes SHA-256 for source and target If the hashes match, the file is skipped If the hashes do not match, it is treated as a conflict and skipped without overwrite

Stable File Detection

To avoid processing a file while another service is still writing it in the UNC path, the program checks both conditions:

• size + modified time stay unchanged across multiple scans
• the last modified time is older than stable_for

Suggested starting values:

scan interval: 15s
stable_for: 1m
stable_scans: 3

Build

go build -o unc-file-watcher.exe .

Run

.\unc-file-watcher.exe

Default listen address:

http://127.0.0.1:18080

To change the port:

.\unc-file-watcher.exe -listen 127.0.0.1:19090

Web UI Settings

Archive Rule

• Enable archive rule
• Archive UNC source path
• Zip path
• Unzip path

Generic File Rule

• Enable generic file rule
• Generic file UNC source path
• Local target path
• Extension list, for example .csv,.txt,.pdf
• Dedupe mode

Shared Settings

• Scan interval
• Stable duration
• Stable scan count
• Transfer mode: copy or move
• Recursive scan

Local Settings File

The web UI saves settings automatically next to the executable:

unc-file-watcher-settings.json

When you open the page again, the last saved settings are loaded automatically.

Runtime Notes

• In copy mode, source files remain in the UNC path
• In move mode, the program copies first and then removes the source file
• In move mode, if a duplicate is detected, the source file is removed only after hash/content verification succeeds
• The generic file rule never overwrites an existing target file when a conflict is detected
• The archive rule only handles .tar.gz