# What to Do When Files in the Import Folder Don’t Show Up

Sometimes you drop documents into your Import folder, but nothing appears in the Paperless dashboard. This usually isn’t a bug — it’s just how Paperless watches for new files. Here’s a quick guide to diagnose and fix it.

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Paperless watches the import folder using **inotify**, which only reacts to *new* events:</span>

- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">a file is **created**</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">a file is **modified**</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">a file is **moved into** the folder</span>

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If the files were already in the folder **before** Paperless started watching, no event fires — so Paperless never notices them.</span>

1. <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Make sure the files are visible inside the container by running following command inside a VM</span>

```bash
docker exec -it paperless-webserver-1 ls -l /usr/src/paperless/consume
```

2. <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Trigger Paperless to Notice Files by running touch command</span>

```bash
sudo touch /mnt/nas/Import/*.pdf
```

3. Also, it might be optional but good idea to restart webserver

```bash
docker restart paperless-webserver-1
```

Premissions matter. If paperlerless can't write to the folder, imports will fail. To check permissions:

```bash
docker exec -it paperless-webserver-1 touch /usr/src/paperless/consume/test.txt
```