diff --git a/src/libraries.rs b/src/libraries.rs
index 02d02ee..59b614a 100644
--- a/src/libraries.rs
+++ b/src/libraries.rs
@@ -80,16 +80,21 @@ impl Library {
     }
 }
 
-/// Parse a comma-separated excluded_dirs column into a Vec, dropping
-/// empty entries (mirrors `AppState::parse_excluded_dirs` for the env
-/// var). NULL → empty Vec. Duplicates are preserved — `PathExcluder`
-/// accepts repeats, and the storage-side normaliser is where dedup
-/// happens.
+/// Parse an excluded_dirs string into a Vec, dropping empty entries.
+/// NULL → empty Vec. Duplicates are preserved — `PathExcluder` accepts
+/// repeats, and the storage-side normaliser is where dedup happens.
+///
+/// Accepts both `,` and newline (`\n` / `\r\n`) as separators so the
+/// UI's textarea can submit one-entry-per-line input without forcing
+/// the operator to remember commas. The DB stores the canonical
+/// comma-joined form (see `normalize_excluded_dirs_input`); the
+/// newline path matters mostly for the frontend submit, but mirroring
+/// it here keeps the parse direction round-trip safe.
 pub fn parse_excluded_dirs_column(raw: Option<&str>) -> Vec<String> {
     match raw {
         None => Vec::new(),
         Some(s) => s
-            .split(',')
+            .split(|c: char| matches!(c, ',' | '\n' | '\r'))
             .map(str::trim)
             .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
             .map(String::from)
@@ -739,6 +744,40 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_excluded_dirs_column_splits_on_newlines_too() {
+        // Newline-separated input from a textarea submit. One-per-line
+        // is the recommended UX because "I forgot the comma" was a
+        // recurring footgun (.thumbnails .thumbnails2 silently
+        // becomes a single never-matching pattern).
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_excluded_dirs_column(Some("@eaDir\n.thumbnails\n/private")),
+            vec![
+                "@eaDir".to_string(),
+                ".thumbnails".to_string(),
+                "/private".to_string()
+            ]
+        );
+        // Windows line endings (CRLF) — the carriage return is its own
+        // separator so the trailing empty token between \r and \n gets
+        // trimmed + dropped.
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_excluded_dirs_column(Some("a\r\nb\r\nc")),
+            vec!["a".to_string(), "b".to_string(), "c".to_string()]
+        );
+        // Mixed comma + newline — the user pastes from one source,
+        // adds a few entries inline. Both work, in any combination.
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_excluded_dirs_column(Some("a, b\nc,d")),
+            vec![
+                "a".to_string(),
+                "b".to_string(),
+                "c".to_string(),
+                "d".to_string()
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn effective_excluded_dirs_unions_global_and_per_library() {
         let lib_no_extras = Library {