does sync_root_files synchronize files *and* folders?

[goekce]

On v2.5.10, I have the following files:

cat /home/u/.config/onedrive/config   
sync_dir = "/home/u/dcloud"
sync_root_files = "true"
skip_symlinks = "true"

cat /home/u/.config/onedrive/sync_list 
!venv/*
!_build/*
!__pycache__/*
!.cache/*
!.git/*

When I run

onedrive --sync --resync --verbose --dry-run

Then all paths are excluded by sync_list config.

usage.md states:

sync_root_files = "true"
This will tell the application to sync any file that it finds in your 'sync_dir' root by default, negating the need to constantly update your 'sync_list' file.

I would like to synchronize all files and folders on the sync_dir with the exclusion of paths on the sync_list. What am I doing wrong?

[abraunegg]

Based on the configuration you have provided, I believe there is some confusion between the purpose of sync_list and the behaviour of sync_root_files.

The client provides several different ways to control what is synchronised:

• sync_list - Explicitly defines what files and directories should be synchronised.
• skip_dir - Excludes directories from synchronisation.
• skip_file - Excludes files matching specific patterns.
• --single-directory - Synchronises only a specific path.

When using sync_list, it is important to understand that it operates as an allow-list. Anything not explicitly included in the sync_list file is excluded from synchronisation.

Your current sync_list only contains exclusion rules:

!venv/*
!_build/*
!__pycache__/*
!.cache/*
!.git/*

However, there are no inclusion rules telling the client which directories should actually be synchronised.

Additionally, sync_root_files = "true" only applies to files located directly in the root of your configured sync_dir. In your case, this means files located directly under:

/home/u/dcloud/

can be synchronised without needing to be explicitly listed in sync_list.

It does not mean:

sync all files and folders under sync_dir

and it does not automatically include root-level directories or recursively synchronise all content beneath sync_dir.

So, to answer your question:

I would like to synchronize all files and folders on the sync_dir with the exclusion of paths on the sync_list. What am I doing wrong?

The missing piece is the inclusion entries. With sync_list, excluded is the default state. Anything you want synchronised must first be included in the sync_list, and then exclusions can be used to filter content beneath those included paths.

For example, if your sync_dir contains:

Documents
Projects
Pictures
Notes

and you want those synchronised, your sync_list would need to include them in the correct order:

# Explicit Excludes First
!venv/*
!_build/*
!__pycache__/*
!.cache/*
!.git/*

# Inclusion
/Documents/*
/Projects/*
/Pictures/*
/Notes/*

This is why the file is called sync_list: it is the list of content to synchronise, not a list of content to ignore.

The selective synchronisation documentation covers this behaviour in detail, including inclusion and exclusion processing, path matching rules, and examples:

https://github.com/abraunegg/onedrive/blob/master/docs/usage.md#performing-a-selective-synchronisation-via-sync_list-file

[goekce]

* character applies to directories only, so sync_root_files is the only option for automatically synchronizing files with any name under the root – now I get it!

My goal is to synchronize folders with any name, so I don't have to update sync_list every time I add another directory. So I tried the following and added /*.

cat /home/u/.config/onedrive/sync_list
!venv/*
!_build/*
!__pycache__/*
!.cache/*
!.git/*
/*

A resync still excludes all paths.

When I explicitly state the directory names without any wildcard, then these directories are included. So my question is:

Does sync_list support wildcard for directories under the root folder?

---

♥️ thanks for the detailed and fast answer :)

[abraunegg]

Adding:

/*

to the end of the sync_list will not work, because that rule is explicitly rejected by the client.

In the current code, /* and / are treated as invalid legacy root include rules. When either rule is found, the client logs an error advising to use:

sync_root_files = "true"

instead. The rule is then skipped and not added to the active sync_list rules.

That behaviour is intentional.

However, sync_root_files = "true" only applies to files directly in the root of your configured sync_dir. It does not include root-level directories, and it does not recursively include everything below sync_dir.

So this configuration cannot be used as:

sync everything under sync_dir
then exclude a few paths

When sync_list is in use, it remains an allow-list. The client starts from an excluded-by-default position, and only paths that match valid include rules are considered in scope. Exclusion rules then remove items from that included set.

Therefore, the correct approach is to explicitly list the root-level folders you want synchronised, then add your exclusions.

This is by design and I am not planning to change sync_list behaviour to support /* as a “sync everything recursively” rule. That would change the meaning of sync_list from an allow-list into a broad include-all mode with exclusions, which is not how this feature is implemented.

The relevant documentation is here:

https://github.com/abraunegg/onedrive/blob/master/docs/usage.md#performing-a-selective-synchronisation-via-sync_list-file

[goekce]

I understand your design perspective on sync_list being an only an allow list. I have two ideas for the future based on my user experience

1. If I have both /* and sync_root_files = "true", I get the following message:

   ERROR: Invalid sync_list rule '/*' detected. Please use 'sync_root_files = "true"' or --sync-root-files option to sync files in the root path.
   

   The error message could be nuanced like this:

   ERROR: Invalid sync_list rule '/*' detected. Please use 'sync_root_files = "true"' or --sync-root-files option to sync files in the root path. To sync directories in the root path, include them manually, because `/*` is not allowed.
   

2. I have the hunch at most users would like to sync any folder as default in the sync path. It would be great to have this feature. For example Microsoft could adds sometimes automatically some directories like Meetings, Attachments in the root path. Sometimes they are added as Meetings 1 or in another language Vedhæftede filer. I would like to see them also reflected on my local disk.

Thank you again for the thorough answer :D

[abraunegg]

Thanks for the follow-up and the suggestions.

For your specific use case, there is another option which may better match the behaviour you are looking for.

If your goal is:

sync everything under sync_dir, but exclude these common development/cache directories

then do not use a sync_list file.

Instead, remove the sync_list file and configure these exclusions via skip_dir:

skip_dir = "venv|_build|__pycache__|.cache|.git"

Your current sync_list exclusions:

!venv/*
!_build/*
!__pycache__/*
!.cache/*
!.git/*

are directory exclusions, so they map naturally to skip_dir.

With no sync_list file present, the client is no longer operating in selective-sync allow-list mode. It will synchronise the configured sync_dir normally, including newly-created root folders such as Meetings, Attachments, translated folder names, or similarly generated Microsoft folders, while still excluding directories matching the skip_dir rules.

So the practical choices are:

sync_list

Use this when you want to explicitly list what should be synchronised.

skip_dir

Use this when you want to synchronise broadly, but exclude specific directory names or paths.

In your case, skip_dir appears to be the better fit and do not use a sync_list file at all.

For future reference, the behaviour of sync_list, sync_root_files, skip_dir, and skip_file, along with their intended use cases, is already documented in the project documentation and configuration references.

[goekce]

This is the best solution to my problem. Thanks ❣️

Would you like to open a PR for improving the error message?

[abraunegg]

Would you like to open a PR for improving the error message?

contributions are always welcome

FYI, please do not close discussions