Symlinks are not synchronized with the Desktop Client

Problem

Symbolic links (symlinks) are not synchronized by the OpenCloud Desktop Client. Linked folders or files may be missing or inaccessible.

Cause

Symlinks are deliberately excluded from synchronization for several reasons:

• Not portable: Symlinks often point to paths that only exist on the original machine. On another device, the target path likely doesn't exist.
• Not usable in the web interface: The web interface cannot interpret or display symlinks.
• Problematic on Windows: Symlink support on Windows is limited and inconsistent.
• Risk of circular references: Symlinks could point to each other in loops, causing infinite synchronization cycles.
• Loss of identity: If the client followed the link and synchronized the target, it would become a regular copy of the data and lose its original nature as a symlink.

Solution

Sync folders outside the sync root using symlinks

To synchronize a folder outside your sync root, move the folder into the sync root and replace its original location with a symlink.

Example

You want to synchronize the folder /foo/A, but your sync root is /home/bar/OpenCloud/Personal.

1. Move the folder into a subfolder of your sync root:

   mkdir -p /home/bar/OpenCloud/Personal/foo/
   mv /foo/A /home/bar/OpenCloud/Personal/foo/A

2. Create a symlink in the original location:

   ln -s /home/bar/OpenCloud/Personal/foo/A /foo/A