URGENT: Parts of my library have dissappeared locally(?)

frankweber · 2024-12-02T11:13:13+00:00

I just realized that parts of my library seem to have dissappeared - when I open Zotero on my laptop the last added entry dates from May, 6th - which is incorrect.
When I login to zotero.org however, I find all entries, including the recent ones.
Has this got something to do with my renewed subscription?
What do I have to to to avoid the loss of data? How can I save the Library from zotero.org locally?

dstillman · 2024-12-02T11:19:36+00:00

No, this wouldn't have anything to do with a subscription and isn't likely to be due to anything in Zotero itself. It's possible you did something outside of Zotero (e.g., deleting your database by mistake while trying to free disk space and ending up using an old backup).

See Locating Missing Zotero Data for what you'd be looking for in your data directory to try to figure out what happened.

If your data is up to date online, you can always just delete the zotero.sqlite database in your data directory and sync to pull down recent data, but you should first try to figure out what happened.

frankweber · 2024-12-02T11:22:00+00:00

how can I sync to pull down recent data from the web library?
it seems to me that in the local version of zotero i just get the option to overwrite the online library?

dstillman · 2024-12-02T11:22:51+00:00

If you delete your database, restart Zotero, and sync, it will pull down your data, just as if you're using a new computer. But again, you should actually follow the steps on the linked page to try to see what the state of your data directory is.

frankweber · 2024-12-02T11:29:19+00:00

this is weird. suddenly the data oof my local zotero and the web library are in sync again. though I am just happy for now, but i would like to know what could be the cause of this - and above all how i can avoid this in the future. i am sure that i have not deleted any zotero data manually.

dstillman · 2024-12-02T11:44:55+00:00

I'd guess that you accidentally deleted the database outside of Zotero — again, such as by trying to free up disk space — and then either were automatically reverted to an automatic backup or were in the middle of syncing down the data from the online library when you thought the data went through May.

Again, the linked page tells you what to look for in your data directory to get a sense of what happened. There's really nothing more we can tell you without the info requested there.