How to start from scratch

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44

Then your steps as last posted are incomplete. They are not showing when you switch browsers, which you did mention in an earlier version.

This I totally don’t understand. Maybe I still can’t imagine what you’re actually doing when. But I know it sounds overly complicated and what I suggested was a rather minimal workflow. You came up with this complicated browser switcheroo scheme to work around a problem that you are causing yourself. I’m giving you solutions to avoid it entirely, but if you really like to keep doing that ritual, go ahead. But then you’ll likely need to figure out the details yourself.

Syncthing does not try to synchronize directory modification times, see FAQ — Syncthing documentation. If you need that, robocopy or rsync will help (I guess, haven’t checked). Modification times for files should match up though, unless the sync did not actually succeed.

As for “Up To Date”: Syncthing reconciles changes detected in the local files (latest local state) with changes announced by all remote devices sharing the same folder, into what’s called the “global state”. A folder shows “Up To Date” if local state and global state matches. As you have a send-only folder on your LOCAL instance, any possible changes from REMOTE are ignored, thus it will always show Up To Date or Scanning. The folder status on one device says nothing at all about the state of the folders on other devices.

To see whether REMOTE (receive-only) has caught up with LOCAL (send-only), you either need to check folder status on the receiving end, or the device status on the sending end, which summarizes how much REMOTE still needs to sync to become fully Up To Date.

I’ve explained to you numerous times how things work and what you could do to simplify and avoid problems. Take it or leave it, but if you want help on actual issues (not getting to a synchronized state), then you’ll really need to provide details about what it actually shows. I’ve seen no local or global state counts, Out Of Sync item lists, Failed Items, or even folder / device status. We can’t go on troubleshooting like this. It’s just theorizing about what could work how, with no real data points.

Your initial request was “how to start from scratch”, which I guess we’ve shown to be unnecessary. To solve sync issues by different means, we need details about what’s really happening. Simplifying your workflow would help in any case.

45

AC>Then your steps as last posted are incomplete. They are not showing when you switch browsers, which you did mention in an earlier version.

Could be, because I was still trying to understand how ST works. Once I do, I will set up the correct procedure.

AC>This I totally don’t understand. Maybe I still can’t imagine what you’re actually doing when. But I know it sounds overly complicated and what I suggested was a rather minimal workflow. You came up with this complicated browser switcheroo scheme to work around a problem that you are causing yourself. I’m giving you solutions to avoid it entirely, but if you really like to keep doing that ritual, go ahead. But then you’ll likely need to figure out the details yourself.

Apparently both of us have difficulties understanding each other, for which I am sorry.

I am using ST with browser GUI. 2 folders I am syncing are profiles of Brave and Firefox. I switch the browser depending on which profile I sync in order to avoid syncing the profile while the browser is in use to avoid locked files, or changes during syncing, which you yourself warned me against. Can’t explain better than this.

AC> To see whether REMOTE (receive-only) has caught up with LOCAL (send-only), you either need to check folder status on the receiving end, or the device status on the sending end, which summarizes how much REMOTE still needs to sync to become fully Up To Date.

So when I see “scanning” on the local, that tells me that the remote has not yet caught up. Since there are no modifications on the remote (it’s a backup machine), lemme ask this:

At the point when the local tells me “up to date” can I assume that the content of the shared folders on the remote matches exactly the content of the 4 folders on the local (deleted files deleted, added files added, modified files modified)? If the answer is yes, I think this is the correct procedure, with browser switching:

REMOTE: off

LOCAL: Start ST/Brave, all paused

REMOTE: Boot, Start ST/Brave, all unpaused

LOCAL: Resume Firefox folder

Wait for Up-to-Date on local

LOCAL: Pause Firefox folder, Stop Brave/Start Firefox, unpause Brave+2 folders

Wait for Up-to-Date on local

REMOTE: Stop Firefox, ST, Shutdown

LOCAL: pause Brave folder,stop ST

46

Syncing browser profiles is fine, while they are not in use. But using the same browser profiles to watch Syncthing’s status brings exactly the troubles you are facing and trying to work around.

Do not use either browser during synchronization with the affected profiles. Make a new Firefox profile (get acquainted with the profile manager for how to do that). Start Firefox with just this new profile for watching the Syncthing GUI. Do not synchronize this new profile to the REMOTE machine.

Do not use the synchronized browser profiles on REMOTE, ever. They will have modifications just by starting a browser. But the folder is receive-only, so modifications on your REMOTE machine are explicitly not desired. They will be marked as “Local Additions” by Syncthing, and keep the sync from completing.

As stated earlier, you don’t need to open any view of the Syncthing GUI on REMOTE, at all. Not with Firefox, nor Brave, nor any other browser or separate profile. Simply don’t.

You can see the relevant status on LOCAL’s GUI, on the right side. That part you seem to still be confusing, and ignoring this recommendation. Have you even looked at it?

You could, as a more detailed alternative, open the REMOTE GUI in a browser tab on LOCAL, if you wish. This advice you have also completely ignored so far.

Scanning on LOCAL means that it is still determining what changes there are to even catch up to. Then they need to be announced to REMOTE. Then that side needs to ask for the needed data to sync the changes. Only then can it even make progress toward synchronizing the changes.

… when LOCAL tells you “Up To Date” where? I told you several times about the difference between folder state (left) and remote device state (right). Please re-read those posts, it’s an important distinction. Did you ever even look at the GUI to see what I mean? Or are we theorizing about your memories what the GUI looked like?

Check it out to see what I am talking about. Send screenshots so we have a common ground for the conversation and troubleshooting.

47

But you also told me that I do not need to look at the remote, only at the local. So if I look only at the local, the only “up to date” I see is on local folders. I don’t see what happens on the remote folders. To see that, I gotta go look on the remote folders, which means I gotta touch the remote, both of which you told me I don’t need to do

Your explanations may be clear to you because you know how ST works, but to me they look like contradictions. OTOH you say don’t look/touch the remote, but on the other you say that I cannot decide what happened unless I touch/look on the remote.

So I repeat the question: how do I determine if the syncing completed and the remote folders caught up with the local folders LOOKING ONLY AT THE LOCAL WITHOUT TOUCHING THE REMOTE.

48

Please read: An Intro to the GUI — Syncthing documentation

The screenshot there shows three “Remote Devices”, while you have only one. That’s the info I have been talking about. In your screenshot from OLDSYS, the Remote Devices section is cut off. In your screenshot from NEWSYS, it shows OLDSYS as paused. You have not provided new screenshots after I explained what pausing a device does, so can’t tell whether that is still your problem. You should try it and report your findings.

Unfortunately the text in the docs about the Device View is pretty short and doesn’t mention the status. But there you can see in the screenshot that the device “Android phone” is still syncing for example. Once all data has landed there, it will say Up To Date.

I cannot help you further without knowing what it really shows on your end. You need to come up with facts. Further theoretical discussion is moot, as all explanations have been given. Try it and ask concrete questions, showing what specific item you are asking about in a screenshot. Please.