Hi all,
For unknown reasons Joplin had a major sync issue with my account and created a "Conflicts (attachments)" folder. The issue was sudden with no significant issues in the hours/days prior.
The problem is there are 3500+ notes listed in this Conflicts folder. I can spot check some but there is no way I can confirm that many notes and some I wouldn't even know where to look as they are just an image.
Resyncing a backup and/or deleting/recreating profiles takes a long time (I've had to do this before with an unrelated problem) so I'd rather not since it's downtime.
Does anyone know how to handle this type of enormous conflict? If anyone knows how it might have occurred that would help too. It's getting frustrating to regularly start from scratch and lose so much time. Thanks.
In addition after the "Conflicts" folder issue happened, automatic backups stopped running. No errors or messages, they just cease to function. I'm using Backup v1.4.1.
Just discovered that while I was investigating the original problem. Manual backup works but scheduled/recurring don't.
I'm starting to wonder if a running backup is causing some sort of conflict with account sync or during normal use of the notes edit/create. Maybe just on larger accounts?
Allow Joplin to complete its sync on your primary device.
Do not use Joplin during sync and do not open it on any other devices.
After sync completes: Spot check a couple notes to confirm the "Conflicts" are duplicates. Delete the "Conflicts (attachments)" folder and all notes within.
Allow Joplin to complete its sync on your primary device (same device as in step #1).
Quit Joplin via File -> Quit. On mobile devices force quit the app.
Re-open Joplin and force it to sync again. It will sync items it missed on the first go round.
After sync completes: Quit Joplin via File -> Quit. On mobile devices force quit the app.
Open Joplin on secondary device.
Allow Joplin to complete its sync on secondary device.
Do not use Joplin during sync and do not open it on any other devices.
Quit Joplin via File -> Quit. On mobile devices force quit the app.
Re-open Joplin and force it to sync again. It will sync items it missed on the first go round. Note: I had to do this 4 times on mobile before it finally caught all the changes.
Repeat steps 8-12 as needed on other devices.
Takeaways:
Having to go through this process is tiresome and shouldn't be necessary but the only other solution I found is to have longer downtime by starting a new profile and resyncing 10k+ notes to multiple devices.
If you have a large account like mine, don't simultaneously use the account on multiple devices or platforms. I've had multiple instances now where I'm editing on one device while referencing on another at the same time - Joplin eventually can't handle it and has an unrecoverable episode. I've narrowed down the decline to something with the cloud sync but beyond that is not my area of expertise and beyond what I can troubleshoot as a user.
When you add Joplin to a new device ensure your other sessions are closed. This will prevent sync from interfering with the natural initial import/sync on the new device.
After the process, Joplin will have new/different notes that cannot sync - ones that weren't there before. It will also likely have items that cannot be decrypted. You can easily duplicate the notes and then delete them. The encryption issue is confusing as those notes still exist and they appear unaffected. You could duplicate those as well via the resource ID. Don't waste time retrying them over and over, it never succeeds.
Notes:
Above applies to: Windows, Linux, Android. iOS was referenced elsewhere about this conflict issue but I don't personally use it.
In my case, Backup stop working when the issues first started so after you perform the above make sure you re-establish the backup process.
Final Thought:
If you're a user with a large account like mine I urge caution when power using Joplin. Stick to one device if possible and take a healthy pause between switching to other devices or platforms to ensure sync doesn't get confused during the process. Also, check the backups regularly.