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There's a .canary file causing syncing issues on my Dropbox app.
Hey all! My local backup software failed out yesterday - it reported that there was a file in use in Dropbox. I poked around and found that ".canary" in my Dropbox cache was marked with the syncing icon (round blue arrows). There was also a file "canary.enabled", but that one seemed to be static.
When I delete the ".canary" file, it simply reappears. This file doesn't show up on my online account (natch).
I can see it on my two linked computers, my desktop (Win 11) and laptop (Win 10). Both are running app version 214.3.5104. I have a basic (free) account.
Anyone know what's going on with this canary file? Why can't I delete it? Where did it come from? I'd like to clear it so my local backup will run, but I'm also concerned that this might indicate a security issue, as I have no idea where this file came from.
Thanks for anything you can offer!
This problem, the canary file and folder can't be backed up because they're not accessible ... Has anyone come up with a simple effective solution to this problem.
You should be excluding the .dropbox.cache folder from your backups. There's no reason to back up this folder. It's a cache folder and contains no data that would be useful in the event of a restore.
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- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi there Johnxi - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Can you clarify the status and version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your taskbar ?
Also, where exactly would you like to back this up and what error are you getting if you try to delete it somehow?
Essentially, I have the same problem and indications everybody has mentioned previously.
Dropbox is level 225.4.4896 and is up to date.
There is a file in dropbox called "C:\Users\xxxxx\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache\.canary"When I try to back up Dropbox using syncback to a removable hard disk I get an error.
When I search for the .canary file on online Dropbox, it says file not found.When I search my local drop box folder, it does find it.
It also shows two circular arrows under the status column.But when I try to delete it:
see belowWhen try again and I click yes, the System thinks for about 5 seconds and then returns to file explorer. and the file still exists. No errors are indicated. In other words, the file cannot be deleted in normal ways.
I tried File Locksmith to unlock the file but no luck.
So, there you have it Walter, Any ideas?
- Rich
Super User II
This problem, the canary file and folder can't be backed up because they're not accessible ... Has anyone come up with a simple effective solution to this problem.
You should be excluding the .dropbox.cache folder from your backups. There's no reason to back up this folder. It's a cache folder and contains no data that would be useful in the event of a restore.
Good idea, took a bit of doing but I finally managed to prevent the \Dropbox\.dropbox.cache folder from being backed up. So I guess that's the workaround. Thank you rich.
