dropbox is constantly updating sync for shared vault; folder has more than 33,000 files in it

olivetreestudios

We have a vault shared between 7 users. The dropbox file is updating nonstop with conflicting copies. The file names are in AgileKeychain file / data / default / 21D6CCBDD026443080DE2D49C4DAD4E1 (Justin Ebersole's conflicted copy 2015-06-19 (5031)) (Justin Ebersole's conflicted copy 2015-06-19).1password. There are like 33,000+ files constantly updating on all users systems. We all are syncing this across 8 Macs and 1 Windows user via Dropbox.

is it supposed to be doing this?

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1Password Version: 1Password Version 5.3 (530029) Mac App Store
Extension Version: 4.3.1
OS Version: 10.10.3
Sync Type: dropbox

littlebobbytables

Hi @olivetreestudios,

While conflict files do serve a purpose something has most certainly gone wrong.

As you can see, Dropbox include's the source of the conflict and so I'm wondering, do they all say Justin Ebersole in them? If they do I would probably recommend quitting 1Password completely on their Mac while we get this under control, one way to do this is to use the keyboard shortcut ⌃⌘Q as this will quit both 1Password and 1Password mini.

Now if it was just a few conflict files I would say 1Password would be able to handle it. 1Password does understand and is aware of how Dropbox handles conflicts but given how many conflict files there seem to be I think the automated system simply may have too much to cope with. Instead I think your best option is to create a new .agilekeychain to replace this out of control one.

So what you want to do are the following steps from one of the Macs with a known good copy of the vault.

1. On the 'good' Mac, launch 1Password.
2. Enter 1Password's preferences and switch to the Sync tab.
3. Change the sync option from Dropbox to None for the vault with this issue. I don't know if you're using a single primary vault being shared between you all or a secondary vault with individual primary vaults. Either way the step is the same.
4. 1Password will pop up a confirmation window. Tick the checkbox titled Delete data from Dropbox and then click the Disable Sync button. This will delete only the .agilekeychain for this vault - nothing else will be touched.
5. Let Dropbox synchronise these changes. It might take a good couple of minutes if it is really out of control.
6. Once Dropbox has stabilised again, change the sync option back from None to Dropbox and create a new .agilekeychain in the same place as the old one.

This will be a fresh .agilekeychain with none of the conflicts. Now all the other Macs will realise this isn't the exact same .agilekeychain as before and they will disable syncing, even though the name matches up. On each Mac that isn't Justin Ebersole's you would re-enable Dropbox sync and point it to the specific .agilekeychain (and not the folder). If you have done this properly you will get a Merge button instead of a Create New button. Add each Mac in turn, letting Dropbox stabilise if required.

Now to the problem machine belonging to Justin Ebersole.

If you share a single Primary vault between all of you then I would recommend simply starting over on this Mac. Have a clean copy of 1Password connect to the existing .agilekeychain using our Finding existing 1Password data during setup guide. That way whatever the issue with 1Password on Justin Ebersole's Mac it won't start up again.

If the shared vault is a secondary vault then we want to be a little more careful as we don't won't to lose a primary vault that may be in use and whose sync status is unknown to myself as I write this. Instead I would recommend the following.

1. Launch 1Password on Justin Ebersole's Mac. It too will say sync is disabled.
2. Switch to the secondary vault (your shared one) and then use the drop down menu option 1Password > Delete XXX Vault... where XXX is the name of that vault.
3. Confirm you wish to delete the vault by clicking on the Delete Vault button.
4. With the errant vault removed, you can re-add it by double clicking on the new .agilekeychain that should be in their Dropbox folder.

I would hope that would rein in the vicious cycle that seems to have occurred. It might also be prudent to ensure that all your machines are periodically correcting their time clocks and that they're all synchronised, just in case that played a part.

If you have any questions regarding any of this before you start then please do ask. If that all seems reasonably straight forward (although no doubt a bit of a pain) and you're happy to proceed then please do let us know how it goes.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned the Windows machine. 1Password for Windows directly works on the .agilekeychain so it won't be too bothered by all of this and you should simply be able to open the new .agilekeychain without any fuss.

olivetreestudios

Great advice. Other than being a little hassle; we un-synced and then deleted the shared vault on all systems. Created a new dropbox folder and saved a new version of the vault from one of the systems. Then we manually added each system back in. It seems that has taken care of the issue. We no longer have the thousands of file update occurring. Thanks a lot!

Vee_AG

Hi @olivetreestudios,

On behalf of Drew, you're quite welcome! Sorry for the hassle, and thank you for following up to let us know that worked. We're glad to hear you're all up and running again. :)