[SOLVED] Can't exclude folder from synchronization with WinSCP .NET Assembly in PowerShell

Can't exclude folder from synchronization with WinSCP .NET Assembly in PowerShell

The task is very simple but I can't implement it. Need to exclude the system folder from the data that is synchronized to the remote backup server

My script

param (
    $localPath = "E:\path",
    $remotePath = "/disk_files_backup/disk_E",
)

try {
    Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files (x86)\WinSCP\WinSCPnet.dll"

    $sessionOptions = New-Object WinSCP.SessionOptions -Property @{
        Protocol = [WinSCP.Protocol]::Sftp
        HostName = "*"
        UserName = "*"
        Password = "*"
        GiveUpSecurityAndAcceptAnySshHostKey = $True
    }

    $session = New-Object WinSCP.Session

    try {
        # Connect
        $session.Open($sessionOptions)

        # Upload files
        $transferOptions = New-Object WinSCP.TransferOptions
        $transferOptions.TransferMode = [WinSCP.TransferMode]::Binary
        # Example file types to include 
        $transferOptions.FileMask = "| System Volume Information*" 
 
        # Synchronize files to remote directory, collect results
        $synchronizationResult = $session.SynchronizeDirectories(
            [WinSCP.SynchronizationMode]::Remote, 
            $localPath, 
            $remotePath, 
            $True,
            $transferOptions
        )
        $synchronizationResult
    }
    finally {
        # Disconnect, clean up
        $session.Dispose()
    }
    exit 0
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    exit 1
}

tried different formats for specifying the folder, also exclude all folders using this method "| *" nothing works for me

Solution

You have two issues in your code.

Mask for a directory have to end with a slash:
https://winscp.net/eng/docs/file_mask#directory

So like this:
```
| System Volume Information*/
```
Or */, when excluding all directories.
See How do I transfer (or synchronize) directory non-recursively?

TransferOptions options is 7th argument of Session.SynchronizeDirectories, not 5th:
https://winscp.net/eng/docs/library_session_synchronizedirectories

So the call should be like:

$synchronizationResult = $session.SynchronizeDirectories(
    [WinSCP.SynchronizationMode]::Remote, 
    $localPath, 
    $remotePath, 
    $True,
    $False, # Missing 'mirror' parameter
    [WinSCP.SynchronizationCriteria]::Time, # Missing 'criteria' parameter
    $transferOptions
)