Hot folder

watched folder

A hot folder (or watched folder) is a directory monitored by software so that any file dropped into it is automatically processed — uploaded, synced or sent onward — without manual action.

Hot folders are a common automation pattern: software watches a folder and reacts the moment a file appears. Photographers use them so that exported or incoming images are picked up and delivered automatically.

Camera-to-cloud delivery achieves the same outcome a step earlier — instead of waiting for a file to land in a folder, the photo is sent the instant the camera captures it, so there's no folder to watch and no export step in between.