By default, Paperless stores your library file in your user's documents folder (~/Documents/). This is usually the best place to store library files. The location a library file is stored in, though, is optional: currently, you can select any point on your had drive to Store library files in (and use it from the point you have selected). Paperless is designed (and supported) as a single-user, single-machine program. In cases where a Paperless library is stored in a location that is shared, synced, or managed by a third-party application, we have found that Paperless may experience performance issues--or even display evidence of database corruption. Because of this, there are certain places (and use scenarios) that work better to store a library in than others. In this document, we outline these places and use scenarios.

Store library files in a location on an internal drive.

It is recommended to store a library on an internal hard drive or Dropbox. Generally, the best place on your hard drive to do this is within your user's home folder (like the Documents folder, which is the default location). It is not currently recommended to store a library on a removable volume (like a USB drive).

It is not currently supported to store a Paperless at a remote point on a network, such as a fileserver.

Store library files in a location other than ~/Library/Application Support/Paperless/Scans/.

In the user library (the Library folder located in your user's home directory), there is a location (within the Paperless folder, under the folder Application Support) named Scans. Paperless monitors the Scans folder and automatically removes its contents every time Paperless launches. Due to the potential for data loss, this location is not recommended as a location to store your Paperless library.

Store library files in a location that is not accessed by other users or computers.

In Mac OS, it is possible to share files from your machine with other machines. One example of this is the Public folder in your user's home directory. It is not currently supported to share a Paperless library from your machine with other machines.

Store library files in a location that is not managed, monitored, or accessed automatically by a third-party application.

Several applications exist that claim to "watch a folder" or your entire hard drive and work with the files at the location being watched as soon as changes are saved to the files. Some programs sync (or backup) files using this method. Others might compress (or encrypt) the contents of the folder (or drive) it watches.

Use of these programs with Paperless library files is not currently supported. For more information on the recommended method to back up your Paperless library file, please see this knowledge base article.

Store library files in a location that is not synced automatically.

This is very similar to third-party applications: syncing a library between two or more machines (or to a cloud-based service) is not currently supported.

Many syncing and backup applications provide an option to exclude specific locations from backups or syncs. If the program you are using allows for the exclusion of specific locations For more information on the recommended method to back up your Paperless library file, please see this knowledge base article.