nextcloud / nextcloud/server

Utilise and store tag data in extended attributes

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1. to develop enhancement feature: tags hotspot: filename handling
Dominant language
PHP
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Description

Currently other systems (such as KDE) utilise the file extended attributes (xattr) metadata to store tag information (using user.xdg.tags).

Use extended attributes to store tags where possible.

Read and apply tags from other systems which are stored in extended attributes.

This would enable true tag portability, data resilience, and tag syncing and sharing.

Caveat: though all common and modern filesystems support extended attributes (albeit FAT, HPFS, and NTFS support limited length extended attributes).

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Research direction

The issue names no files, entry points, or tests. Start by tracing how tags and filesystem metadata are currently handled, then investigate support for the user.xdg.tags extended attribute and compatibility with existing tag storage. Done should include portable tag reading and writing where extended attributes are available, with behavior for unsupported filesystems verified.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
php
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
28/100

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