# Exclude files and folders from uploading and downloading Suppressing uploading, downloading, and synchronization for files or folders with sources ensures that the sources are protected against accidental update. When applied to non-sources, it can save system resources because media, caches, or temporary files are no longer copied unnecessarily. You may need to suppress upload/download in the following cases: 1. You are going to work with externally created and uploaded source code. To process these remote sources in IntelliJ IDEA, you have to download them and arrange them in a project. However, there are some sources that you should not update at all. On the other hand, the folders on the remote host also may contain huge amounts of media, caches, temporal files, that you actually do not need in your work. 2. You have already downloaded the data from the server and arranged them in an IntelliJ IDEA project. However, for this or that reason, you need to have some files or folders on the server protected against upload/download, for example, to prevent accidental overwriting. 3. The local copy of an application contains both source code and other data that you do not need to upload. Besides, you want to protect some sources against overwriting by mistake. In this case, you can suppress upload/download for all files and folders that should not be uploaded. There are two ways to exclude folders from upload/download: * Explicitly, by marking the corresponding paths as excluded in the [Remote Host](remote-host-tool-window.html) tool window or in the [Excluded Paths](deployment-excluded-paths-tab.html) tab of the [Deployment dialog](settings-deployment.html). 1. The names of all the not-excluded folders and files are displayed on a green background. The names of excluded items are displayed without a background. 2. In the [Remote Host](remote-host-tool-window.html) tool window, you can exclude both entire folders and specific files. * By name, that is, by specifying [patterns that determine the names](#exclude_by_name) of files and folders to be excluded in the Exclude Items by Name field of the [Options](settings-deployment-options.html) dialog. > **Note:** > In any case, exclusion is applied recursively. If the path to a folder is explicitly marked as excluded or the folder name matches the pattern, the contents of all its subfolders, if any, are also protected against upload/download. > > > > Also note that separate files can be protected against upload/download only through [excluding them by name](#exclude_by_name). Procedure: Enable the FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Connectivity plugin This functionality relies on the [FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Connectivity](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/13125-ftp-sftp-webdav-connectivity) plugin, which is bundled and enabled in IntelliJ IDEA by default. If the relevant features are not available, make sure that you did not disable the plugin. > **Note:** > The FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Connectivity plugin is not available in IntelliJ IDEA without the Ultimate subscription. 1. Press `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS)) to open settings and then select `Plugins`. 2. Open the Installed tab, find the FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Connectivity plugin, and select the checkbox next to the plugin name. ## Exclude a folder on server from upload/download after project creation Procedure: Add a folder to the list of excluded paths 1. Open the [Deployment](settings-deployment.html) dialog by doing one of the following: * Choose `Tools | Deployment | Configuration` from the main menu. * In the Settings dialog (`Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS))), select Deployment under Build, Execution, Deployment. 2. In the [Deployment](settings-deployment.html) dialog, click the [Excluded Paths](deployment-excluded-paths-tab.html) tab. The tab shows the list of the previously excluded local and remote folders. 3. Click the Add button ![the Add button](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.add.svg) and select Deployment path. 4. Double-click the empty line that is added to the list. 5. At the end of the added line, click the Browse button ![the Browse button](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.open.svg). 6. In the Choose remote excluded path dialog, navigate to the folder that you want to exclude. You can also type the path manually, but note that only absolute paths are accepted. 7. When you click OK, you return to the [Excluded Paths](deployment-excluded-paths-tab.html) tab, where the selected remote folder is added to the list. Procedure: Add a folder to the list of excluded paths in the Remote Host tool window 1. In the main menu, go to `Tools | Deployment | Browse Remote Host` or `View | Tool Windows | Remote Host` . 2. In the [Remote Host](remote-host-tool-window.html) tool window that opens, select the relevant [server configuration](creating-in-place-server-configuration.html) from the list. 3. Select the folder to exclude and choose Exclude Path from the context menu of the selection. ## Exclude a local folder from upload/download Procedure: 1. Open the [Deployment](settings-deployment.html) dialog by doing one of the following: * Choose `Tools | Deployment | Configuration` from the main menu. * In the Settings dialog (`Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS))), select Deployment under Build, Execution, Deployment. 2. In the [Deployment](settings-deployment.html) dialog, click the [Excluded Paths](deployment-excluded-paths-tab.html) tab. The tab shows the list of the previously excluded local and remote folders. 3. Click the Add button ![the Add button](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.add.svg) and select Local path. 4. At the end of the added line, click the Browse button ![Browse button](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.open.svg) and navigate to the folder that you want to exclude. You can also type the path manually, but note that only absolute paths are accepted. ## Exclude files and folders from upload/download by name Procedure: 1. Open the [Options](settings-deployment-options.html) dialog by doing one of the following: * Go to `Tools | Deployment | Options`. * In the Settings dialog (`Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS))), go to `Build, Execution, Deployment | Deployment | Options`. 2. In the [Options](settings-deployment-options.html) dialog that opens, specify the patterns that define the names of these files and folders in the Exclude items by name field. Use semicolons `;` as delimiters, asterisks `*` to match zero or more characters, and question marks `?` to match a single character. For example, if you have a folder `stylesheets` with three files `style.css`, `style1.css`, and `style2.scss`, then `style*` excludes the entire folder, `style?.css` excludes `style1.css`, and `style?.*` excludes `style1.css` and `style2.scss`. Learn more from [Regular-Expressions.info](https://www.regular-expressions.info/quickstart.html). The exclusion is applied recursively. This means that if a matching folder has subfolders, the contents of these subfolders are not deployed either. ## Remove the exclusion mark Procedure: * Select a file or folder to upload/download and choose Remove Path from Excluded from the context menu. Returning a folder to upload/download affects all its subfolders and files. ## See also ### Language and Framework-Specific Guidelines [Deployment](deploying-applications.html) [Customize upload and download](customizing-upload.html) ### Reference [Deployment: Excluded Paths Tab](deployment-excluded-paths-tab.html) [Options](settings-deployment-options.html) [Deployment](settings-deployment.html) [Remote Host tool window](remote-host-tool-window.html)