Zotero not syncing

Pyrolobus · October 25, 2019

One week ago, the Zotero installed in my Linux desktop stopped syncing. I only realised today when I tried to sync my laptop (Win10) and there were no new items being downloaded (they should have).
But it hasn't just stopped syncing, some items with attachments on my account (Zotero storage) don't have the attachments in the Linux computer.

I went through the "files not syncing" troubleshooting with no solution. It isn't a space issue in my account as I have the unlimited plan. Re-checked the sync config...

Any idea what might be going on?

Report submitted: D2133186251
Zotero: version 5.0.76

dstillman · October 25, 2019

I only realised today when I tried to sync my laptop (Win10) and there were no new items being downloaded (they should have).

If you actually mean items here and not files, the Files Not Syncing page isn't relevant and you'd need to look at Changes Not Syncing.

But it hasn't just stopped syncing, some items with attachments on my account (Zotero storage) don't have the attachments in the Linux computer.

Are you referring to attachment items or attachment files? That is, can you open the actual attachment files online? When you say you don't have them on the Linux computer, do you mean you don't see the attachment items at all or you have the attachment items but can't open the files?

If the issue is that you can't open certain files locally, can you click on a different item, start debug output logging, double-click an attachment that's not opening, and then provide another Debug ID?

Pyrolobus · October 28, 2019

There are some items (citations) that weren't syncing to my account, and that's working now. No idea what happened.

In any case, there is at least one item in my collection that has a bunch of files attached (not linked) that appear in all other synced computers and online storage (and I can access to them), but are not being downloaded into my Linux machine. There isn't even an unfilled circle on that item, the attachments are not even listed.

I did check the "Changes not syncing" but I had already thought of those options...

dstillman · October 28, 2019

There are some items (citations) that weren't syncing to my account

No, "citations" isn't the way to think about this. As I say, attachment items are still items, as are notes. So the question is whether you see the items in Zotero, or you just can't open the files (PDFs, etc.) when you double-click on them.

It sounds like you're saying that attachment items — which would appear under the parent item when you expand it — aren't appearing. If that's the case, you need to go through the Changes Not Syncing page step by step until you get to the end and provide the requested Debug ID. We'd also want the URL to one of the attachment items online.

Pyrolobus · October 28, 2019

OK. No, the attachment items are not there, so I cannot click on them.
The attached items of an specific parent item do not appear in my Linux machine, but they are properly synced across all my other devices.

Yes, I went through the "Changes not syncing" 1-5 and there is nothing I didn't check before. According to point 6, I have to give the Debug ID after Zotero gives an error, but it doesn't.
The only way I was able to give a sync error (as per point 6) was by resetting the File Sync History (1386852561).

This is the URL of one of the attachment items: https://www.zotero.org/pyrolobus/items/S32WILCJ/file

dstillman · October 28, 2019

You seem to be conflating two different pages. On the Changes Not Syncing page, step 6 doesn't say anything about an error, nor does it mention Reset File Sync History, since that's about file syncing. And you provided a Report ID rather than a Debug ID.

[JavaScript Error: "Group with libraryID 1 does not exist" {file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/data/groups.js" line: 108}]

You're getting (or were getting) a sync error, which would show up as an error icon next to the sync button, as explained in Step 3 of the Changes Not Syncing page.

We need a Debug ID for a sync attempt.

Pyrolobus · October 29, 2019

The thing is that I didn't get the error icon in Zotero until I did the resetting.

This is the Debug ID of the last sync: D2023345600

dstillman · October 29, 2019

There's a huge amount of output in there, including lots of files being downloaded. It seems like you either ran Reset File Sync History or enabled file syncing before running this, which isn't relevant here, because (if you're saying items are missing) this is about data syncing, not file syncing.

This is all you need to do:

If you're still having trouble, post to the Zotero Forums with a Debug ID for the first sync after making a change that doesn't sync (e.g., making a change to the online library that doesn't appear in Zotero). Start debug output logging before making the change and keep it going until the sync has ended.

You can just add something to the note on the S32WILCJ attachment as the change. (You have to use the old web library for that, since that's not yet supported in the new web library.) Make sure you've synced first before turning on debug output logging to process any other changes. The actual logged sync shouldn't take more than a second or two.