Archive file scanning filtering rules and limits

---
title: Archive file scanning filtering rules and limits
description: Reference information for the filtering rules and performance safeguards that apply when Agent Client Collector for Visibility Content scans ZIP and JAR archive files during File-Based Discovery.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-operations-management/agent-client-collector/archive-file-scanning-reference.html
release: australia
product: Agent Client Collector
classification: agent-client-collector
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [archive file scanning, File-Based Discovery, ZIP, JAR, agent client collector, ACC-VC]
breadcrumb: [ACC-VC reference, Agent Client Collector reference, Agent Client Collector, IT Operations Management]
---

# Archive file scanning filtering rules and limits

Reference information for the filtering rules and performance safeguards that apply when Agent Client Collector for Visibility Content scans ZIP and JAR archive files during File-Based Discovery.

## Filtering rules

Archive entries are filtered using the same rules as files found on disk, with the following differences.

|Capability|Regular files|Archive entries|
|----------|-------------|---------------|
|SAM allowlist matching|Yes|Yes|
|File Management extension rules|Yes|Yes|
|MIME type detection \(Linux\)|Yes|No. The file does not exist on disk, so the system can't inspect its content type|
|Version detection|Yes|No. Version can't be queried for a file that hasn't been extracted|
|SWID tag support|Yes|No. Archive contents aren't decompressed or read, so SWID tags inside ZIP or JAR files aren't processed|

**Note:** On Linux, File Management matching relies on MIME type detection rather than extension rules. As a result, archive entries can only be matched by SAM rules, not by MIME type.

## Performance safeguards

The following limits are enforced to prevent archive scanning from affecting agent performance or endpoint stability.

|Safeguard|Limit|Behavior when exceeded|
|---------|-----|----------------------|
|Maximum archive file size|500 MB|Archive is skipped entirely|
|Maximum entries per archive|50,000 files|Scanning stops after the limit; entries discovered so far are retained|
|Per-archive timeout|30 seconds|Scanning of that archive is aborted; entries discovered so far are retained|
|Corrupt or password-protected archives|Not applicable|Detected automatically, logged, and skipped|
|Nested archives \(archive inside an archive\)|Not applicable|Not scanned. Only top-level archives on disk are inspected|
|Global file limit \(**maxFiles**\)|Configured per policy|Archive entries count toward the global file limit; scanning stops when the limit is reached|

**Parent Topic:**[Agent Client Collector for Visibility Content reference](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-operations-management/agent-client-collector/agent-client-collector-for-visibility-references.md)