Murena cloud syncing in one or two directions?

Can someone confirm that

  • syncing allows deleting photos in the cloud only,
  • or else, if I do this leaving the pics in the phone, it will re-upload all the cloud deleted pics,
  • or if I delete pics in the cloud then the next sync will also delete cloud-erased pics in the phone?

TIA!
Hervé

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

good question

the doc page on sync doesn’t really elaborate. The Readme doesn’t detail it either, might be worth to ask @Manoj or the developer to make this a paragraph in the docs or source repo.

The code for the behaviour is here and you need to keep in mind edrive tallys current and past files once known and uploaded in a database.

My reading of onMissingFile() on the remote (cloud) is to not do anything locally if a remote file was found, is not present locally, but was uploaded once before to the remote. So deleting photos locally that were uploaded once is safe. That isn’t what you were asking about, you’re concerned with how remote deletions are handled locally: this changed recently (must be in v1.13 or v1.14) - instead of back-syncing deletions from the remote the sync is disabled for the filepath and is locally kept.

Well, best run this by Manoj and the developer.

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Thank you @tcecyk ! This behavior is exactly what I hoped -and f I dare, to the end user your description is much clearer than the reference technical change :wink:
I’m going to try :face_with_peeking_eye:

Thank you for bringing this up.
I am really confused about what files are synced where, and in both directions or not.
Before Murena, I have on other phone used owncloud to sync pictures and syncthing for other stuff between phone, workstation and laptop. But now I am trying to use Murena cloud ttps://murena.io

I tried to be efficient and sync “everything” to my desktop computer using nextcloud client app on the computers. I can then easily and quickly browse pictures and documents, delete, mode, create subfolders… Much get synced all the way back to the phone, but then after a while the deleted files reappear. I see per thus thread now that is because the pictures i deleted are getting synced up from the phone.

I dont get the idea here, it seem to me only more work and more confusing to be needing to delete pictures both on phone and elsewhere…?

@Manoj, there is more than one problem with explanations at https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/edrive-sync-details.html, and https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/eDrive

In the sync settings we can enable/disable different items. Rather clear are Tasks, Calendar, Adress books, Mail, Application settings. But it would be nice to know where in the file tree they are if we want to synchronise some or all by other means. I find no setting for Documents! I see settings for Pictures and videos, but what folders? DCIM + Pictures + Movies? Doe it grap pictures also in documents folders? Downloads?

There are also more folders than described, i.e Images, Music, Recordings…

In which direction do sync work, and by which criteria? I guess the new idea is that when pictures are deleted on phone they are not deleted on cloud. Is it also vice versa. I found that folders and files created on cloud (or computer synced with it) get propagated to phone. Do deletions of those on computer get then deleted on phone? etc. And do files in all folders like i.e Documents folder behave the same, i.e when delete don phone they are not deleted in cloud?

I feel like shutting down the built in sync for the folders Documents, DCIM and Pictures, and set up normal bidirectional syncing of them using nextcloud app (or maybe i choose syncthing and not and cloud server for them). Any way, I shall first disable the built in sync of “Pictures and videos” ? And how to disable sync of Documents folder ?

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More interoperability questions

Sync services like i.e NextCloud and Syncthing usually put hidden files in the base of sync trees, that store the sync status etc. Syncthing can even maintain folders of file backups of changed versions.

These items should never get synced by any sync service.

Usually the services are preconfigured with what files to not sync, by file name patterns.

How do we check and configure Murena built in sync service regarding what files to not sync?

Where do it put its own sync tracking files and what are they named?

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Like most Android apps, in a SQLite database.
It can be reset by stopping app then deleting data.
Note: populating this database depends (partially) on Android Media Provider services.

You can’t. 2 workarounds:

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Working to understand default sync of Pictures/videos, Documents etc folders…

  • What: the single sync setting “Pictures and videos” seem to enable/disable sync of folders /storage/emulated/0/{DCIM, Pictures, Movies, Music, Ringtones, Documents, Podcasts, Recordings} at least. https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/edrive-sync-details.html lacks listing at least Recordings, and the text below table mentions about the same as table, but text say Images instead of Photos and Pictures but that was probably an earlier version, Images exist empty on server. That page really need en overhaul.

  • When: synchronization is done on ACTION_SCREEN_OFF intent if the last
    sync is greater than 15 min. Otherwise a sync is scheduled each 30 min. (from https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/eDrive) Also in sync settings we can trig sync by the the menu under three dots in upper right corner, or toggle an individual sync on-off-on.

  • Long delays: Strangely it still takes some extra minutes after sync before it really do show up. Queued server side file handling, or are syncs sometimes not fully complete when they finish?

  • No deletion. Files and folders can be added in cloud or phone and gets synced over. If a file is deleted in one end it is NOT deleted in the other end. I tested, and also read at https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/eDrive/-/merge_requests/228

    • What is the motivation behind the sudden “eDrive, file deletion behaviour must be removed.” (at that link) - and not even asking users? (i did not notice). This is very different from other sync services, so SHOULD be clearly communicated! I also wonder if this idea of not deleting items on the other side in future propagate to address book, mail, etc items? Hmmm.
  • Change propagation: If a file is changed on phone, it gets copied over that file on server, and vice versa. - Very odd that completely change content gets propagated but not file deletions…!?

  • Restricting what is synced: hidden files (starting with a dot) seem to not be synced. I guess same goes for folders. The trick to put a .nomedia file in a folder (Can I control what backs up/syncs to Murena account - #19 by aibd) i found not to work, but it do work for hiding folders images from not being shown in pictures galleries etc. I think it is good that .nomedia do not affect sync, it should be a separate setting. May i suggset to instate .nosync ? And to control deletions maybe .nosyncdelete ? … maybe settings to make sync backups etc like i.e Syncthing :slight_smile: But keeping extending, a config file might be better…

My plan

  • Because I really must have file deletions to propagate like anything else both directions: Disable the sync item “Pictures and videos”, and instead use Nextcloud app from F-Droid, see Install and connect Nextcloud app to your /e/cloud drive to unveil its true potential - #28 by petefoth. I also want better control of what to sync. I.e one sync for the DCIM folder, one for Documents etc… I may also sync some folders to my own cloud instead of Murena. One other reason may be that Murena sync seem to be very slow sometimes. Most scary is the lack of clear documentation, and sudden change.

  • The other sync items I will keep enabled: “Application settings”, and all app syncing items such as Mail, Calendar…

  • Some files and folders i will use Syncthing for syncing to workstation and laptop, because it is great in configuration possibilities, and can keep staggered revision backups och change/deleted files, and can work with LAN between devices if network is unavailable. I have already been using it for years for small folders, it just works :slight_smile:

  • KDEConnect is also a wonderful computer (Linux) application to browse the phone filesystem in a file browser, connect clipboards, and other interactions :slight_smile:

Also interesting is browsing files the clouds: Access the e-Drive from the file manager? - #6 by smu44. , https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/document-provider.

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Update from trying: Is seems that not even Nextcloud app is not fully bidirectional yet, https://help.nextcloud.com/t/nextcloud-android-app-automatically-sync-files-folders/23123/32 miss important settings, and to top it off when i tested it complained on some illegal local filenames bit did not tell which. I also fail both to find decent user documentation or even where log file is. Maybe I am just tired. Frustrated, for sure.

I dont understand why they simply do not make a sync app that works as on the desktop - or better…

Seems syncthing is in for the rescue https://alexandre.deverteuil.net/post/synchronizing-files-across-phone-laptop-nas-with-nextcloud-and-syncthing/ .

Found it and other bits in https://github.com/nextcloud/android/issues/19 .

Yes: Syncthing to Linux PC and there nextcloud client to Murena cloud works great.

For bidirectional syncing with Nextcloud i briefly tested FolderSync, the non paid version https://www.tacit.dk/foldersync/ . It seem to work but do not do versioning like Syncthing, and do not act directly on file change (maybe the paid do) - but it can be scheduled to run often and you can trig it. And it works with many different servers. One con is that settings are flimsy, sometimes clicking an option sets another, some UI problem.

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@Manoj Could you please tell what the default syncing behavior is? I just installed /e/OS on a new FP5 and it suddenly downloaded hundreds of ancient, long-deleted photos from my murena cloud.

The link https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/edrive-sync-details.html has been posted here, but I agree with the others that “eDrive syncs the following from device to cloud” is a bit superficial for an explanation. Also, some info on the page is a bit outdated, since I believe the service is not called “eDrive” anymore and on the bottom it only lists “Application settings” and “Pictures and videos”, while today there are many more categories of things to sync.

So the cases that I guess the OP asked about are:

  1. File exists on phone and not on cloud (e.g. photo just taken) → That obviously just gets synced to cloud
  2. File exists on phone and on cloud and is then deleted on phone (e.g. photo synced and then deleted by user) → What happens on cloud? Will it be deleted?
  3. File exists on phone and on cloud and is then deleted on cloud (e.g. user tried to make space on cloud) → What happens to file on phone? Will it be deleted? If not, will it be resynced to cloud?

And ideally we could also get some documentation on these special cases:
4. File uploaded to cloud (can be done in Files > blue plus button > Upload file) and put into a phone-synced folder (e.g. Documents) → Will file be sent to phone?
5. File, after syncing to cloud, moved from one folder to another on phone → What happens on cloud?
6. File, after syncing to cloud, moved from one folder to another on cloud (yes, that can be done) → What happens on phone?

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By default, all files on the cloud would get synced on to any phone that is linked for the first time. Files and photos taken on the phone also get synced to the cloud folder.
Will share your questions with the infra team who maintains the guide and have the guide detailed further.

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(kind of offtopic / tangential, as in: not on eDrive)

In that thread a user posted an explicitly bidirectional solution as separate App - https://github.com/nextcloud/android/issues/19#issuecomment-1823082242https://github.com/phpbg/easysync

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