diff --git a/lib/Service/ExcludedFolderService.php b/lib/Service/ExcludedFolderService.php
index a9bd5c4..0e21d91 100644
--- a/lib/Service/ExcludedFolderService.php
+++ b/lib/Service/ExcludedFolderService.php
@@ -34,8 +34,9 @@ public function __construct(
 
     private function validateUserContext(): void {
         if (empty($this->userId)) {
-            $this->logger->debug('No user context available');
-            throw new \RuntimeException('User context required for this operation');
+            $this->logger->debug('No user context available, skipping excluded folder check');
+            // Instead of throwing an exception, we'll just skip the check
+            return;
         }
         $this->logger->debug('User context validated: {userId}', ['userId' => $this->userId]);
     }
@@ -141,58 +142,50 @@ public function delete(int $id): void {
         }
     }
 
-    public function isPathExcluded(string $path): bool {
-        $this->validateUserContext();
-        
-        $this->logger->debug('Checking if path is in excluded folder', [
-            'path' => $path,
-            'userId' => $this->userId
-        ]);
-
-        // Normalize path for comparison - remove /admin/files/ prefix
+    private function isPathInExcludedFolder(string $path, string $excludedPath): bool {
+        // Normalize paths for comparison - remove /admin/files/ prefix
         $normalizedPath = preg_replace('#^/[^/]+/files/#', '/', $path);
         $normalizedPath = '/' . trim($normalizedPath, '/');
-        
-        $this->logger->debug('Normalized path for exclusion check', [
-            'originalPath' => $path,
-            'normalizedPath' => $normalizedPath,
-            'strippedPrefix' => preg_match('#^/[^/]+/files/#', $path) ? 'true' : 'false'
-        ]);
+        $excludedPath = '/' . trim($excludedPath, '/');
 
-        // Get all excluded folders
-        $excludedFolders = $this->findAll();
-        $this->logger->debug('Found excluded folders', [
-            'count' => count($excludedFolders),
-            'paths' => array_map(fn($f) => $f->getFolderPath(), $excludedFolders)
+        $this->logger->debug('Comparing paths for exclusion', [
+            'filePath' => $normalizedPath,
+            'excludedPath' => $excludedPath,
+            'isSubPath' => str_starts_with($normalizedPath, $excludedPath),
+            'exactMatch' => $normalizedPath === $excludedPath
         ]);
 
-        foreach ($excludedFolders as $folder) {
-            $excludedPath = '/' . trim($folder->getFolderPath(), '/');
-            $this->logger->debug('Comparing paths for exclusion', [
-                'filePath' => $normalizedPath,
-                'excludedPath' => $excludedPath,
-                'isSubPath' => str_starts_with($normalizedPath, $excludedPath),
-                'exactMatch' => $normalizedPath === $excludedPath
+        // Check if the path is either exactly the excluded path or starts with it followed by a slash
+        return $normalizedPath === $excludedPath || str_starts_with($normalizedPath, $excludedPath . '/');
+    }
+
+    public function isPathExcluded(string $path): bool {
+        if (empty($this->userId)) {
+            $this->logger->debug('No user context available for path exclusion check, assuming not excluded', [
+                'path' => $path
             ]);
+            return false;
+        }
 
-            // Check if the path is either exactly the excluded path or starts with it followed by a slash
-            if ($normalizedPath === $excludedPath || str_starts_with($normalizedPath, $excludedPath . '/')) {
-                $this->logger->debug('Path is in excluded folder', [
-                    'path' => $path,
-                    'normalizedPath' => $normalizedPath,
-                    'excludedFolder' => $excludedPath,
-                    'matchType' => $normalizedPath === $excludedPath ? 'exact' : 'subpath'
-                ]);
-                return true;
+        try {
+            $excludedFolders = $this->findAll();
+            foreach ($excludedFolders as $excludedFolder) {
+                if ($this->isPathInExcludedFolder($path, $excludedFolder->getFolderPath())) {
+                    $this->logger->debug('Path is in excluded folder', [
+                        'path' => $path,
+                        'excludedFolder' => $excludedFolder->getFolderPath()
+                    ]);
+                    return true;
+                }
             }
+        } catch (\Exception $e) {
+            $this->logger->warning('Error checking excluded folders, assuming not excluded', [
+                'path' => $path,
+                'error' => $e->getMessage()
+            ]);
+            return false;
         }
 
-        $this->logger->debug('Path is not in any excluded folder', [
-            'path' => $path,
-            'normalizedPath' => $normalizedPath,
-            'checkedFolders' => count($excludedFolders)
-        ]);
-
         return false;
     }