Filter certain files from activity log

[caco3]

Like already requested in #44, I am also in a need to exclude a certain file from the activity log.
Reason:
I have a tool which periodically uploads an ics file which I then import into Nextcloud. Those uplaods all are shown in the activity log.

Steps to reproduce

1. Use a tool to periodically upload a file via WebDAV.
2. Check the Activity Log.

Expected behaviour

A way to exclude certain files from Activity Log.

Actual behaviour

Activity Log is bloated with unneeded log entries.

Server configuration

Web server:
Appache

Database:
MYSQL

PHP version:
7.x

Nextcloud version: (see Nextcloud admin page)
11.0.2

Where did you install Nextcloud from:
Web

Signing status:

No errors have been found.

List of activated apps:
Enabled:

• activity: 2.4.1
• activitylog: 0.0.1
• admin_audit: 1.1.0
• comments: 1.1.0
• contacts: 1.5.3
• dav: 1.1.1
• deck: 0.1.2
• direct_menu: 0.10.1
• external: 1.2
• federatedfilesharing: 1.1.1
• federation: 1.1.1
• files: 1.6.1
• files_accesscontrol: 1.1.2
• files_downloadactivity: 1.0.1
• files_external: 1.1.2
• files_markdown: 1.0.1
• files_pdfviewer: 1.0.1
• files_retention: 1.0.1
• files_sharing: 1.1.1
• files_texteditor: 2.2
• files_trashbin: 1.1.0
• files_versions: 1.4.0
• files_videoplayer: 1.0.0
• firstrunwizard: 2.0
• gallery: 16.0.0
• logreader: 2.0.0
• lookup_server_connector: 1.0.0
• nextcloud_announcements: 1.0
• notes: 2.2.0
• notifications: 1.0.1
• password_policy: 1.1.0
• provisioning_api: 1.1.0
• qownnotesapi: 17.3.0
• serverinfo: 1.1.1
• sharebymail: 1.0.1
• survey_client: 0.1.5
• systemtags: 1.1.3
• templateeditor: 0.2
• theming: 1.1.1
• twofactor_backupcodes: 1.0.0
• updatenotification: 1.1.1
• workflowengine: 1.1.1
  Disabled:
• calendar.2
• encryption
• files_automatedtagging
• user_external
• user_ldap
• user_saml

Nextcloud configuration:
{
"system": {
"datadirectory": "/home//owncloud_",
"dbtype": "mysql",
"version": "11.0.2.7",
"installedat": "1334086349.5631",
"lastupdatedat": "1334087083.9888",
"dbname": "_owncloud",
"dbhost": ".mysql.db.internal",
"dbtableprefix": "oc_",
"dbuser": "REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE",
"dbpassword": "REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE",
"installed": true,
"instanceid": "5083050d6af67",
"maxZipInputSize": 419430400,
"allowZipDownload": true,
"theme": "",
"maintenance": false,
"loglevel": 3,
"trusted_domains": [
"owncloud..ch",
"www..ch",
".ch"
],
"mail_from_address": "owncloud",
"mail_smtpmode": "php",
"mail_domain": ".ch",
"secret": "REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE",
"trashbin_retention_obligation": "auto, auto",
"appstore.experimental.enabled": true,
"memcache.local": "\OC\Memcache\APCu",
"updater.release.channel": "stable"
}
}

Are you using an external user-backend, if yes which one: LDAP/ActiveDirectory/Webdav/...
No

Client configuration

Recent FF/Chrome

Operating system:
Linux, what else!

Logs

Nextcloud log (data/nextcloud.log)

Browser log

[xXSTrikeXx]

The easiest way can be firstly to hide only hidden files. Make it much easier atm to implement. What do you think about it @nickvergessen?
There can be also an option under RSS-Feed. To show or hide also hidden files 👍

[Aesculapius]

Same request here. Would like to see how public shared links are used, but some of them get requested multiple times every day (eg. my avatar on a forum). To be able to exclude certain files or search for specific files in the activity log would make it way more usable...

[MorrisJobke]

Duplicate of #71

[nickvergessen]

No this is a different issue. #71 is to find stuff,
This here basically is to prevent being spamed by a single file in all your feeds.

[a-m-s]

👍
I'd like to exclude a whole folder. I have a machine that regularly syncs hundreds of backup files to my nextcloud, and the activity stream just gets swamped. The only way to see what happened to other files is to set them all as favourites, which is not ideal.

[bor8]

Very worth supporting, where should I send money? ;)

In my case it would be very helpful if I could block certain users from the activity log because I have created my own user for WebDAV. Or block shares. Or block folders. Or block files. Depending on what is easier to implement.

[Andreas-Kainz]

I think this could be done with NC 18 workflow engine. In the workflow app I would setup the user specific activity task and in the activity app an section in the sidebar with flow (or how the workflow engine in called) where you see than in subsections user defined activity filters.

[CombeeMike]

Here's my use case:

I'm syncing my VS Code settings via Nextcloud. Obviously multiple files get synced every time I just open VS Code. Those changes clutter my activity log stream & mail notification to an extent which makes them pretty much useless to me.

Therefore I'd love to see some way of excluding single files and complete folders as well. Only filtering logs by app as suggested somewhere else wouldn't help me at all.

[CombeeMike]

I just hard coded my own filter into the system by applying some changes to the source files which I'll explain here for anyone who might be interested in this as well.

Exclaimer

• Only apply such changes if you "know" what you're doing and understand the implications.
• I'm not responsible for anyone breaking his system with changes described by me ;)
• Those changes are probably lost on every update and/or can cause troubles on/after updates.
• Those changes only remove entries from the "activity digest mails" but not from the activities view in the web app or anywhere else.

Changes

Manually add a where clause inside nextcloud/apps/activity/lib/MailQueueHandler.php:getItemsForUser which filters files that you don't want to see in the mail.

E.g. I've applied the following filter to exclude all files within the folder /sync/VSCode/ where /sync/ is a "top level" folder inside my Nextcloud:

# The "amq_subjectparams" column starts with something like "[{"763636":"\/sync\/VSCode\/User\/..."
# for "file activities".
# Therefore we're filtering everything that includes the following pattern:
# ":"\/sync\/VSCode\/
# 
# The "\\\\" are an escape sequence for only one "\"
->andWhere($query->expr()->notLike('amq_subjectparams', $query->createNamedParameter('%\":\"\\\\/sync\\\\/VSCode\\\\/%')))

Here's my adjusted query which is now "live" inside getItemsForUser. I only added the second andWhere clause. Everything else is original code:

$query->select('*')
			->from('activity_mq')
			->where($query->expr()->lte('amq_timestamp', $query->createNamedParameter($maxTime)))
			->andWhere($query->expr()->eq('amq_affecteduser', $query->createNamedParameter($affectedUser)))
			->andWhere($query->expr()->notLike('amq_subjectparams', $query->createNamedParameter('%\":\"\\\\/sync\\\\/VSCode\\\\/%')))
			->orderBy('amq_timestamp', 'ASC')
			->setMaxResults($maxNumItems);

HowTo test changes

• Comment out the content of nextcloud/apps/activity/lib/MailQueueHandler.php:deleteSentItems to not "clear" the sent items after a test and allow sending of a testmail with the same content multiple times
• Force sending of "activity digest mail" from cmd line:
  sudo -u www-data php /path/to/nextcloud/occ activity:send-mails
• Watch out for PHP errors in system logs (Settings -> Logging in the web app)
• "Re-activate" deleteSentItems after done with testing...

@ nextcloud devs

Please let me know if I've done something really terrible here and don't see it myself ;)
E.g. I have no idea if I'm using the $query->createNamedParameter method correctly but just figured out that "it works"...

[CWempe]

I fully support the idea of excluding certain directories.

I recently setup Joplin to sync my notes via Nextcloud.

But now my activity feed is full with events of temporary files. Avery few minutes there is a new entry.

Or am I the only one with this issue?

I would guess there are more users using this kind of setup.
https://nextcloud.com/blog/mobile-note-taking-with-your-private-cloud-announcing-joplinnextcloud-integration/