Azure Files overview
The Azure Files connector makes eligible files and folders in Azure file shares searchable in Glean. Each connector instance connects to one storage account and uses its parent Microsoft 365 connection for authentication and identity information.
Understand what Glean indexes
Glean discovers the storage account's file shares and traverses the selected shares' directory hierarchies. It represents files and folders separately:
| Object | Indexed information |
|---|---|
| Files | Eligible file content, filename, path, file type, creation and modification times, and available custom metadata |
| Folders | Folder name, path, available metadata, and parent-folder relationships. Folders don't have a file-content body |
| File shares | Context for indexed files and folders, not separate searchable documents |
Storage account and share names provide context for results. Glean adds owner information when the file-system owner can be resolved to a user through the associated Microsoft 365 connection. An unresolved owner or a group owner doesn't produce an owner user.
Azure custom metadata is stored as custom text fields. Not every metadata value becomes a separate search filter. The Department value is derived from the item's folder path, not the user's organizational department.
Review content selection and limits
The connector's standard file-extension allowlist includes:
- Word documents:
DOCX,DOC - Excel workbooks:
XLSX,XLS - PowerPoint presentations:
PPTX,PPT - Other document and text formats:
PDF,TXT,MD,HTML,CSV,JSON,XML,RTF
The configured extension list can differ by deployment. Matching an extension makes a file eligible for crawling, but doesn't guarantee that its content can be extracted.
You can include audio, video, and image files by adding their extensions to the connector's configured allowlist. Glean makes those files searchable by filename, but doesn't index their contents.
File-size limits also apply. Files above the effective size limit are skipped, not retained as metadata-only results. Files excluded by an extension restriction are also skipped. Contact Glean Support to confirm the extension and size settings applied to your connection.
Use Manage data to include specific file shares or exclude paths. See Select content to crawl.
Hidden files and folders aren't returned in search results. This isn't a guarantee that their content is never fetched or stored, and hiding a folder isn't a substitute for excluding its subtree from crawling.
Understand content and permission refresh
Glean runs a discovery scan of the selected directory hierarchies every 2 days by default. It uses stored file and directory timestamps to decide which content and metadata to refresh rather than downloading every unchanged file again. The connector doesn't run a separate scheduled incremental content crawl or support webhook-based updates.
Glean crawls share-level role assignments every 2 hours by default. File-system permissions refresh with file and directory fetches, not on the 2-hour share-permission schedule. The parent Microsoft 365 connection supplies users and group memberships on its own schedule. Content discovery depends on the share-permission crawl and the parent Microsoft 365 membership crawl.
A completed crawl doesn't mean that every document has finished indexing or that every permission change is already reflected in search. Don't rely on immediate updates or removals after source changes. Validate content and access after the relevant processing completes, and contact Glean Support if the result doesn't match your expectations. See Connector refresh rates for the default schedules.
Open search results
The connector supports file links and HTTPS links. File-link mode uses a file:// URL as the primary result link and also records the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. HTTPS mode uses the storage account's HTTPS file endpoint. The standard configuration uses file-link mode.
The link format doesn't grant Azure access or establish network connectivity for the user. Verify that the same source location opens from the user's device outside Glean. If the link doesn't open, work with your IT team and Glean Support to check the configured link format and source access.
See also
- Azure Files permissions explains how application roles differ from user search permissions.
- Set up Azure Files lists the access and configuration to collect before setup.