data path vanished - error box appearing, folder stops sync-ing - megabug

Hey there,

today I added a new fresh windows7 machine, and immediately used the win x64 zip from current 0.14.35

this fresh machine, became paired with the rest of the pack, for one object = folder.

name is for example PPB

the linux machine that originally started sharing this PPB folder like maybe a year or two ago, suddenly showed a box on its syncthing webinterface that the folder patch is nonexistant (on the left side of the gui)

in the details PPB folder suddenly is supposed to be in /home/username/PPB but it never was there, ever it is (physically on disk at for example /srv/raid/path/name/here/PPB

I shut down syncthing on the linux machine.

the config.xml file and(?) config.xml.v20 ? newer version? new structure? migration of config.xml file to some new data structure? are from right a few minutes ago.

why did this folder path change inside the xml file?

i think the .v20 file still has the correct PPB folder path entry, but the .xml file without the .v20 has the bad one showing to /home/username/PPB

what the heck happened? serious bug with syncthing when adding new devices?

sorry for the messy typing but I am in a serious mess and trouble here :((

can I just edit the config.xml or whatever holds the faulty path to home/PPB and revert that path/markup tag back to the correct path /srv/raid/…PPB and just restart syncthing on the linux machine?

thanks for any help. and please debug. thank you.

So the only explanation I have for this is that config was somehow deleted, then on startup new config got generates (with no devices or folders), and somehow has accepted a new device and a new folder in the new path.

I highly suspect it’s a user error and not a bug in syncthing, as not a single config migration has ever touched folder paths as part of the migration.

Best way to fix this is to remove the folder and add a new one at the new path with the same ID.

Are you sure you didn’t add a new folder on the linux device?
The reason I am asking: There is a new feature in 14.35 that sets a default path at ~/foldername, which fits your description.

Also how exactly did you add the folder on the new device? (E.g. added device to folder on the linux device).

If the path has just changed in the config.xml and the files are still in the old place you can just edit it back in config.xml.

Could possibly be some issue with the folder path getting set to the default by some odd browser interaction or something?

As far as megabugs go this one might be annoying but hardly the worst we’ve done this week, assuming your files are still in place.

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This is a bug, no need to answer my earlier questions.
D***it, I clearly hold the title of getting the most bugs through release candidates - they might not be overly critical but still annoying.
Fix incoming.

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At least if they slip through the release candidates they clearly don’t affect everyone.

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@usernamegoeshere

Thanks for bringing our attention to this problem, it is fixed in 0.14.36. Ever thought about using release candidates? :smiley:

EDIT: Well, it wont happen anymore, you will still have to fix it like Jakob wrote earlier.

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Hi there, didnt have time back yesterday, but eventually I edited the path in the config.xml file.

I first diffed the two files the .v20 and without, and there was only this single difference really.

“Megabug” wording was of course only my personal view on this matter, obviously.

Maybe we need more best-practices documentation or documents and howtos how for users to achieve certain specific often recurring situations, as for example my situation, adding one more client, to an already existing and long-working (normal conditions) folder.

What I did , was just use a new win7 machine and run the latest client (as of yesterday) on it.

I then went into some detail area where the syncthing can and does discover other syncthing devices on the same lan, and there I didnt have to note down and manually type in all those cryptic long strings for machine names and all.

So then the new machine first became added or rather pending on this new win7 machine.

And I think, even there, right then at the new win7 machine, I think there was this error dialogbox about the path visible as well, or maybe that was a step later when I went over to the linux machine, saw the pending attempt there, added/acknowledged the new win7 machine there, and only then was the error box showing at the long-established and shared object=folder.

Then I kinda freaked out about the messy situation as I was not really first aware of what had happened, and I think, when I went back to the new win7 machine, I saw this error box show there as well, and it was really confusion.

So if you guys now discovered the reason for this bug in the source code, then I am glad (kind of :wink: ) that I had discovered this, even though the brief nightmare for me during the situation.

Thanks agan and cheers.

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