Dropbox is filling my Mac's hard drive with clone files.

SpencerEditor wrote:

Dropbox has created an extra 500gb worth of "clone files" in a root mount, group containers folder.

Not sure what you mean by clone files, or the location you're referring to. Can you provide any screenshots showing the issue? Be sure to mask any private information.

Sure, here is the screenshot. As you can see, my actual files are in the "cloud storage" folder. Yet there is another "group containers" structure, where a "file clones" folder is steadily increasing, even now.

I'm assuming they're temporary files (as my files are still being synced) but I'm just not sure why it's necessary and what I can do about it.

Hi from me too, SpencerEditor! Can you please check the syncing status of your Dropbox app and let me know how many files are left till it’s done syncing?

Sure! It says I have 97 files (360gb) left to sync

Thanks for that! To have a clearer image of the issue, I’d suggest letting the app finish its syncing first. 

However, since you mentioned you’re running low on hard drive space, does the Dropbox app seem to be making any progress with the syncing or is it stuck?

Hello. I too am having exactly the same issue. I use a Mac and the latest version of Lightroom. My use case is to have all my photos and library locally but also to have any changes synced with the cloud (Dropbox). As Dropbox doesn't work well with the library whilst it is being modified I always pause the syncing before I load up Lightroom and then ensure Lightroom is not open before re-starting the syncing. This has worked well for some time now but my hard drive also started running out of space. I did some digging and the issue is the 'sand box area' aka 'Group Containers' - here I have over 350Gb of 'dropbox related group container files' in addition to the 400Gb of my 'actual dropbox files'.

I understand these are in a 'shared sandbox area' but requiring 75% of the file storage in addition to manage this isn't viable.
What should I do to reduce the group container storage - and please only ask me to remove dropbox/reinstall if you know this resolves this issue.

Hey jameshavelock - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please clarify your computer's  exact OS version and the version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar? 

Also, can you clarify where exactly you're noticing this hard drive discrepancy? Is it for example in the cache folder or somewhere else  on your computer? 

I'm having the same issue.

Hi someusernameetc, in order to look into this matter in more detail, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate further.