> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nicotine-plus/nicotine-plus/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# File Sharing

> Configure and manage your shared files and folders in Nicotine+

Nicotine+ allows you to share files with other users on the Soulseek network. You can configure multiple shared folders with different permission levels to control who can access your files.

## Share Permission Levels

Nicotine+ supports three permission levels for sharing files:

<Info>
  **Public Shares**: Available to all users on the network

  **Buddy Shares**: Only accessible to users on your buddy list

  **Trusted Shares**: Restricted to trusted buddies only
</Info>

### Setting Up Shares

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add a Shared Folder">
    Navigate to the sharing preferences and click "Add Folder" to select a directory you want to share.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Permission Level">
    Select the appropriate permission level:

    * **Public** for general sharing
    * **Buddy** to restrict to friends
    * **Trusted** for your most trusted contacts
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Virtual Name">
    Assign a virtual name to your share. This is what other users will see instead of your actual folder path. Virtual names are automatically sanitized to:

    * Remove invalid characters like slashes
    * Ensure uniqueness across all your shares
    * Default to the folder name if not specified
  </Step>

  <Step title="Scan Your Shares">
    Click "Rescan" to build the file database. Nicotine+ will:

    * Index all files and folders
    * Extract audio metadata (bitrate, sample rate, duration)
    * Create a searchable word index
    * Support files up to 4GB in size
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Share Scanning Process

When you rescan your shares, Nicotine+ performs several operations:

<Accordion title="What happens during a scan?">
  1. **File Discovery**: Scans all directories and subdirectories
  2. **Metadata Extraction**: Reads audio file tags (MP3, FLAC, OGG, etc.)
  3. **Database Building**: Creates optimized database files (.dbn format)
  4. **Word Indexing**: Builds search index for fast lookups
  5. **Compression**: Generates compressed share lists for quick transfers
</Accordion>

### Rescan Options

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Regular Rescan">
    Updates your share database while preserving existing data. Only modified files are re-indexed.

    **Use when**: You've added or removed files from existing shared folders
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Rebuild Shares">
    Completely rebuilds your share database from scratch.

    **Use when**: You experience database corruption or want to force a complete refresh
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Automatic Rescan">
    Configure automatic rescanning:

    * **On Startup**: Rescan shares when Nicotine+ launches
    * **Daily Schedule**: Set a specific time for automatic rescans
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Share Filters

Control which files are excluded from sharing using filters:

```
Examples:
*.tmp          - Exclude all temporary files
*.db           - Exclude database files
Private\*      - Exclude entire "Private" folder
*backup*       - Exclude files with "backup" in the name
```

<Warning>
  Filters use wildcard patterns. Add `\` at the end to filter entire folders.
</Warning>

## File Type Detection

Nicotine+ automatically categorizes files by type:

<Accordion title="Supported File Types">
  * **Audio**: MP3, FLAC, OGG, WAV, AAC, OPUS, WMA, and 40+ formats
  * **Video**: MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WEBM, and more
  * **Images**: JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, SVG, TIFF
  * **Archives**: ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ
  * **Documents**: PDF, DOC, EPUB, TXT
  * **Executables**: EXE, APK, DMG, DEB
</Accordion>

## Database Management

Share data is stored in custom database files:

<Info>
  Database files are located in your Nicotine+ data folder:

  * `publicfiles.dbn` - Public share file index
  * `buddyfiles.dbn` - Buddy share file index
  * `trustedfiles.dbn` - Trusted share file index
  * `words.dbn` - Search word index
  * `lowercasepaths.dbn` - Case-insensitive path lookup
</Info>

### Database Errors

If you encounter database version errors:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Backup Your Shares">
    Note your shared folder paths and settings
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delete Database Files">
    Remove all `.dbn` files from your data folder
  </Step>

  <Step title="Rebuild Shares">
    Perform a complete share rebuild
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Share Statistics

Nicotine+ tracks and displays:

* Total number of shared files
* Total number of shared folders
* Combined size of all shares
* Share statistics sent to server for your profile

<Note>
  Only **public** and optionally **buddy** shares count toward your server statistics. Trusted shares remain private.
</Note>

## Hidden Files

On Windows, Nicotine+ automatically excludes:

* Files marked with the hidden attribute
* System folders (with exceptions for drive roots)

## Best Practices

<Tip>
  **Organize Your Shares**:

  * Use clear, descriptive virtual names
  * Group related content in dedicated folders
  * Separate public and private content
  * Use buddy/trusted shares for exclusive content

  **Performance Tips**:

  * Avoid sharing folders with extremely deep nesting
  * Exclude system and cache folders
  * Schedule automatic rescans during off-peak hours
  * Monitor share database size (shown in preferences)
</Tip>

## Revealing Shares to Different Users

You can configure whether buddy and trusted shares are visible:

* **Reveal Buddy Shares**: Make buddy-level shares visible to all users
* **Reveal Trusted Shares**: Make trusted-level shares visible to buddies

<Warning>
  Reveal settings affect what others can browse and download. Use with caution to maintain privacy.
</Warning>

## Troubleshooting

### Shares Not Appearing

1. Check that shares are mounted and accessible
2. Verify folder permissions (read access required)
3. Ensure rescan completed successfully
4. Check share filters aren't excluding content

### Slow Scan Performance

* Reduce number of shared files
* Exclude large folders with temporary files
* Use share filters to skip unnecessary files
* Ensure disk isn't heavily used during scan

### Character Encoding Issues

Nicotine+ handles non-ASCII filenames by:

* Using UTF-8 encoding throughout
* Converting backslashes in filenames to sentinels
* Supporting international characters in file names
* Providing fallback for legacy client compatibility


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