Invalid Property Format error

Support
1

Operating system

Windows

Joplin version

3.7.16

Desktop version info

Joplin 3.7.16 (prod, win32)

Device: win32, Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9600K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Client ID: 5ace43686de941c39d35b49e95f08f33
Sync Version: 3
Profile Version: 53
Keychain Supported: Yes
Alternative instance ID: -
Sync target: Dropbox
Editor: Markdown

Revision: e3f38c6

Backup: 1.5.1
Csv Import: 1.0.1
Favorites: 1.3.2
Freehand Drawing: 4.3.0
Headings 4 to 6: 1.0.1
Insert Date: 1.0.1
Markdown Emoji Autocomplete: 1.1.0
Note Tabs: 1.4.0
Text Colorize: 1.2.5

Sync target

Dropbox

What issue do you have?

I'm getting an error when trying to sync that reads "Synchronizer: [error] Error: Invalid property format:". The log shows the note name and a portion of the note that is causing the error, but I can't find anything obviously wrong in the file itself.

How can I determine what it is about the file that is an issue? It's a large file, so I would like to avoid simply deleting it if possible.

Short of fixing it, could I roll back to an earlier version of the note? Would that be likely to fix the error? I would lose some data, but it would be better than losing the entire note.

Thanks.

2

Please provide the log

3

The full log is over 9MB because it includes a large chunk of the note. Would pasting the log into this thread without the text from the note be useful? Or is there a way to attach the entire file without just pasting it into this thread?

4

Maybe just the line with the error and one or two lines before and after?

5

Okay, here's the beginning lines in the log file, along with the point of error and the rest of the log from there.

***BEGINNING OF LOG FILE ***

2026-09-08 10:08:17: Running background sync on timer...
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Preparing scheduled sync
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Starting scheduled sync
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync: starting: Starting synchronisation to target 7... supportsAccurateTimestamp = false; supportsMultiPut = false} [1788887297167]
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Indexing resources...
2026-09-08 10:08:17: ResourceService::indexNoteResources: Start
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Performance: ResourceService/indexNoteResources: Start at 607.36s
2026-09-08 10:08:17: RevisionService: maintenance: Starting...
2026-09-08 10:08:17: RevisionService: maintenance: Service is enabled
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Performance: ResourceService/indexNoteResources: End at 607.47s (took 108.6ms)
2026-09-08 10:08:17: ResourceService::indexNoteResources: Completed
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Performance: ShareService/maintenance: Start at 607.47s
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Performance: ShareService/maintenance: End at 607.47s (took 0.1ms)
2026-09-08 10:08:17: RevisionService: collectRevisions: Created revisions for 0 notes
2026-09-08 10:08:17: RevisionService: maintenance: Done in 109ms
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync target remote info: {"version":3,"e2ee":{"value":false,"updatedTime":0},"activeMasterKeyId":{"value":"","updatedTime":0},"masterKeys":,"noteLockKey":null,"ppk":{"value":{"id":"We4QVjoulhrbhisbHW2eVS","keySize":2048,"privateKey":{"encryptionMethod":4,"ciphertext":"{"iv":"0CBXo09XrKuJ/...HZdHvyP0n9Krkm8ZyZ"}"},"publicKey":"rsa-v2;{"key_ops":["encrypt"],"ext":true...","createdTime":1788722498901},"updatedTime":1788722498901},"appMinVersion":"3.7.0","revisionServiceEnabled":{"value":true,"updatedTime":0},"revisionServiceTtlDays":{"value":90,"updatedTime":0}}
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync target is already setup - checking it...
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync target local info: {"version":3,"e2ee":{"value":false,"updatedTime":0},"activeMasterKeyId":{"value":"","updatedTime":0},"masterKeys":,"noteLockKey":null,"ppk":{"value":{"id":"We4QVjoulhrbhisbHW2eVS","keySize":2048,"privateKey":{"encryptionMethod":4,"ciphertext":"{"iv":"0CBXo09XrKuJ/...HZdHvyP0n9Krkm8ZyZ"}"},"publicKey":"rsa-v2;{"key_ops":["encrypt"],"ext":true...","createdTime":1788722498901},"updatedTime":1788722498901},"appMinVersion":"3.7.0","revisionServiceEnabled":{"value":true,"updatedTime":0},"revisionServiceTtlDays":{"value":90,"updatedTime":0}}
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote ca3a4b6b0f9748148b947ca77aac85ae)
2026-09-08 10:08:17: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote 03a0bfceafa449748a58309f845befd9)
2026-09-08 10:08:18: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote 0c0532924a0948e59af76cd55fb0a649)
2026-09-08 10:08:18: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote 716c810ad7be4ec991d62f5f94cfb6d4)
2026-09-08 10:08:18: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote ef07f63fbd184b0ca66aa79afa5ecacd)
2026-09-08 10:08:18: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote 41a540511a854093945f0f70c5cc73d2)
2026-09-08 10:08:18: Synchronizer: Sync: deleteRemote: local has been deleted: (Remote 8d2d06297ba241a4a82de5db450f2e06)
2026-09-08 10:08:19: Synchronizer: [error] Error: Invalid property format: - I p: Daily Log - 2026

*** TAIL END OF LOG FILE ***

  • This model will fold into a tablet mode, so that'll be interesting.
    • I p
      at BaseItem.unserialize (file:///C:/Users/kibbi/AppData/Local/Programs/Joplin/resources/lib/models/BaseItem.ts:607:21)
      at Synchronizer.start (file:///C:/Users/kibbi/AppData/Local/Programs/Joplin/resources/lib/Synchronizer.ts:697:40)
      at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:104:5)
      at timeoutCallback (file:///C:/Users/kibbi/AppData/Local/Programs/Joplin/resources/lib/registry.ts:209:21)

2026-09-08 14:25:12: checkDisabledSyncItemsNotification: No errors: Hiding notification
2026-09-08 14:25:13: Performance: DecryptionWorker/start: Start at 16023.9s
2026-09-08 14:25:13: DecryptionWorker: cannot start because no master key is currently loaded.
2026-09-08 14:25:13: Performance: DecryptionWorker/start: End at 16023.9s (took 0.4ms)
2026-09-08 14:25:21: Performance: SearchEngine/syncTables: Start at 16032.08s
2026-09-08 14:25:21: SearchEngine: Updating FTS table...
2026-09-08 14:25:22: Updating items_normalized from {"updated_time":1771272394491,"id":"7fc147d41ec447238878af9e1062b1cd"}
2026-09-08 14:25:22: SearchEngine: Updated FTS table in 3ms. Inserted: 0. Deleted: 0
2026-09-08 14:25:22: Performance: SearchEngine/syncTables: End at 16032.19s (took 110.5ms)

*** END OF LOG ***

6

Did the information I posted from the log help? If not, what can I provide that might help me solve this?

Thanks.

7

I could really use some help trying resolve the errors I'm seeing. At this point, I'm completely stuck.

At this point, the program won't run at all, and just issues this error message:

image
image543×519 15.9 KB

Trying to start in Safe Mode fails with the same error.

I created the flags.txt file in my joplin-desktop folder hoping that would at least enable Safe Mode, but no luck.

FYI, this started on Windows after doing a sync on my Linux PC. They both point at Dropbox.

Any suggestions for resolving this would be welcome.

Thanks,
Frank

8

That screenshot shows that you have Joplin 3.6.13 installed. Your original message states you have 3.7.16 installed.

Strictly a guess, but did you at some point install Joplin on Windows for just yourself, and another time install for anybody using the PC? That is an easy way to end up with version problems. You may want to completely uninstall the Windows Joplin, and do a fresh download & reinstall.

9

It appears you have been trying different versions of Joplin. The error in the screenshot when Joplin will not open says that Joplin v3.6.13 cannot read note data that has been modified by a newer version of Joplin. v3.6.13 is expecting data that uses internal profile version 49, however the data is actually using internal profile version 54. At the time of writing there is only one version of Joplin that uses that internal data profile and that is v3.7.21 released 25SEP26. It looks like you may have to install v3.7.21 just to get back to the point where you were getting an "Invalid Property Format" error.

@CJeffyB's suggestion of ensuring that you only have one copy of Joplin installed is also a good thing to do after trying several different versions.

10

Thanks for the replies, and all the info.

Yes, I did have 3.6.13 installed, and it now seems likely that the problem started when I installed 3.7.21 on my Linux PC and then synced. Once I went back to Windows, I found the version error, and decided to install 3.7.21, but that resulted in the errors I'm getting now.

That said, I did indeed have both versions installed at the same time on Windows (If I had known that was possible I would have uninstalled 3.6.13 first), so I uninstalled both versions this afternoon and then reinstalled 3.7.21. I still get the same errors. I now realize I probably need to, in addition to uninstalling, remove all data and folders related to Joplin.

I will uninstall once again, and also remove all Joplin data and folders. Then I'll reinstall and see if I can get it to run. I'll update this thread once I give that a shot.

Again, thanks for the help.

11

After uninstalling and completely removing every trace of Joplin on my Windows 10 PC, then reinstalling, I was able to get Joplin to run.

Rather than try once again to sync the database with it's recurring errors, I elected to import a backup copy that is a couple weeks old. So I've lost a couple weeks worth of updates, but I think I can manually recreate them... it's just a matter of taking the time.

Now I just need to make sure I can still sync with the Linux box, and all will be well.

Again, thanks to laurent, dpoulton and CJeffyB for their assistance. I learned a lot (not the least of which is to make sure that backups are being taken more frequently!).