When adding a new sample content to a large library location, you cannot select only a subfolder for re-indexing/refreshing. You have to “re-index all locations”, and this takes 10+ minutes for a large library even on fast SSDs. Allowing Bitwig to “monitor location for file system changes” on startup bogs down the application on startup, so I think options to manually manage this would be good.
What problem(s) would this feature resolve?
Very long re-indexing process for larger sample libraries. Also bogged-down startup when “monitor location for file system changes” is selected.
How does this feature fit in Bitwig as a product?
This would improve overall UX
Is there already an alternative way to achieve this on Bitwig?
No
Could it be implemented using Bitwig components or APIs, without Bitwig team’s support?
No
Could it be provided by a VST or something else reasonably integrated with Bitwig?
No, although 3rd party VSTs sometimes have their own file browsers that do this.
Are there other products that offer this feature?
Yes, many plugins and at least a couple DAWs, including Cubase 12.
Relevant links (optional)
None
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Hi @Milkman76 , have you contacted Bitwig about this? Looks like a performance issue more than a feature request.
If its a performance issue, its related to a missing feature – manual indexing control over library folders. Perhaps in addition to “monitor location for file system changes”, the option to manually trigger re-indexing, per folder, could be added.
EDIT: right now, you can find a folder via the file browser, you can right click that folder, and there is an option under “browser settings” to “re-index all locations”. That option follows you to any folder. If that option follows you to a sub-folder, it should only re-index that sub-folder.
Are you saying you think the “monitor location for file system changes” feature is not performing the way it should? I do agree that checking a file system for changes (differential backups do this) should be faster, but I also understand that a 2TB library with over 400,000 individual files and their metadata can be heavy, for even modern platforms.
I am open to the idea of also checking with support. Do you think I should also open a ticket?
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Yes, you found a problem and it is good to report it to Bitwig, even if it’s a problem that won’t hit the majority of users.
I understand the solution you propose is a feature request too. 
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@Milkman76 request moved to #features.