What is the scenario when you would use Android app Sync option on Auto upload folders?

ℹ️ Support
1

Hi guys,

I have a hard time understanding some functionality in the system, maybe you could help?

I installed the Nextcloud server locally, along with the Nextcloud Android app on my phone.
In the Android app I go to Settings → Auto upload → The three dots to the right of a specific folder, let’s say Camera → Configure

In the options I stay with the defaults:

  • Local path /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera
  • Remote folder /InstantUpload/Camera
  • Original file will be…kept in the original folder

I turn on the auto upload top switch and hit Save. After a while, all images from that folder are copied to the Nextcloud server under my account, in InstantUpload/Camera.

Now, if I go to Android app main view → All files → InstantUpload → Click on the three dots near Camera and choose Sync, well…a second copy of each file is created on my Android device, as subfolder in the Data storage folder specified in Settings, duplicating all content?
Why would the app do that if my files are already on the device?

Nextcloud version (eg, 20.0.5): 25.0.3
Operating system and version (eg, Ubuntu 20.04): LXC NextCloudPi container / ProxMox / Debian
Apache or nginx version _(eg, Apache 8.1.16

2

hello @ovidiugm welcome to the forum :handshake:

when you configure folder auto-upload there is a setting “also upload existing files”… I think you have duplicate files because you enabled this setting.

3

If I don’t enable “Also upload existing files”, nothing gets transferred from my phone to the server, not even the empty folder gets created on the server.

I just checked with a folder containing images
/storage/emulated/0/Pictures on the device
Remote folder /InstantUpload/Pictures

Unchecked “Also upload existing files”.
Nothing happens.
Even after I place new photos in the storage/emulated/0/Pictures folder, old or new, they don’t get transferred over to the server.