nextcloud / nextcloud/desktop

Notify Push events make the File Provider extension walks every (known) folder

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#10,656 5 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
0. Needs triage bug feature: :file_folder: file provider os: :apple: macOS
Dominant language
C++
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Description

### ⚠️ Before submitting, please verify the following: ⚠️

- [x] This is a **bug**, not a question or a configuration issue.
- [x] This issue is **not** already reported on Github (I have searched for it).
- [x] Nextcloud Server and Desktop Client are **up to date**. See [Server Maintenance and Release Schedule](https://github.com/nextcloud/server/wiki/Maintenance-and-Release-Schedule) and [Desktop Releases](https://nextcloud.com/install/#install-clients) for supported versions.
- [x] I agree to follow Nextcloud's [Code of Conduct](https://nextcloud.com/contribute/code-of-conduct/)

### Bug description

When the client is notified using notify_push, according to `Library/Containers/com.nextcloud.desktopclient.FileProviderExt/Data/Documents/Logs/log.txt` it crawls every folder it has ever seen. Instead of only the one affected (or its parent folders).
This might or might not be by design, but it feels like a huge waste of resources.

### Steps to reproduce

1. Use macOS File Provider extension
2. Browse through the folders on macOS a bit (so macOS knows parts of the folder structure on the server)
3. Make a change on the server (create/delete a file, etc.)
4. Watch log file, the client crawls every folder it has seen.

### Expected behavior

When receiving a push event, I'd expect the client to only download the changes of the folder affected (and maybe its parent folders), not the entire tree.

### Which files are affected by this bug

any

### Operating system

macOS

### Which version of the operating system you are running.

macOS 26.6.2

### Installation method

Other

### Nextcloud Server version

34.0.3

### Nextcloud Desktop Client version

34.0.2

### Did this occur after an update or on a clean installation?

Minor version update (i.e. 33.0.0 → 33.0.1)

### Are you using the Nextcloud Server Encryption module?

No

### Are you using an external user-backend?

- [x] Default internal user-backend
- [ ] LDAP or Active Directory
- [ ] SSO - SAML
- [ ] Other

### Nextcloud Server logs

```shell

```

### Additional info

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing notify_push handling in the macOS File Provider extension and compare its behavior with Library/Containers/com.nextcloud.desktopclient.FileProviderExt/Data/Documents/Logs/log.txt. Reproduce the issue by browsing several folders, changing a server file, and observing which folders are crawled. Done means a push event refreshes only the affected folder and, if needed, its parent folders rather than every known folder.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, macos
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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