Zotero not syncing - Report ID 1924846177

I just switched from storing my PDF attachments on iCloud to storing them in Zotero storage as a way to support this excellent software. However, I am getting a sync error (which I think was present before I switched). I have filed a report (ID 1924846177) with the error messages, but the one that appears when I click the red exclamation point next to the sync arrow says "JSON.parse: expected ',' or '}' after property value in object at line 1 column 1207 of the JSON data"

Other error messages refer to a file file: "chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/sync/syncLocal.js" line: 670}, but I am unable to find this file on my computer. I typically use Safari rather than Chrome, but Chrome is installed.
  • Can you provide a Debug ID (different from a Report ID) for a sync that's giving you that error?
  • Debug ID: D129670030
  • Could you go to Tools → Developer → Run JavaScript and run the following, and let us know the result either here or via email to support@zotero.org with a link to this thread? (We'll respond here.)

    return await Zotero.DB.valueQueryAsync("SELECT data FROM syncCache WHERE libraryID=? AND key=? AND version=? AND syncObjectTypeID IN (SELECT syncObjectTypeID FROM syncObjectTypes WHERE name=?)", [1, 'DMVT8U2F', 6199, 'item'])
  • {"key":"DMVT8U2F","version":6199,"library":{"type":"user","id":5900159,"name":"eric.d.crandall","links":{"alternate":{"href":"https://www.zotero.org/eric.d.crandall","type":"text/html"}}},"links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.zotero.org/users/5900159/items/DMVT8U2F","type":"application/json"},"alternate":{"href":"https://www.zotero.org/eric.d.crandall/items/DMVT8U2F","type":"text/html"}},"meta":{"creatorSummary":"Bandelt et al.","parsedDate":"1999","numChildren":0},"data":{"key":"DMVT8U2F","version":6199,"itemType":"journalArticle","title":"Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies","creators":[{"creatorType":"author","firstName":"H. J.","lastName":"Bandelt"},{"creatorType":"author","firstName":"P.","lastName":"Forster"},{"creatorType":"author","firstName":"A.","lastName":"Rohl"}],"abstractNote":"Reconstructing phylogenies from intraspecific data (such as human mitochondrial DNA variation) is often a challenging task because of large sample sizes and small genetic distances between individuals. The resulting multitude of plausible trees is best expressed by a network which displays alternative potential evolutionary paths in the form of cycles. We present a method ("median joining" [MJ]) for constructing networks from recombination-free population data that combines features of Kruskal's algorithm for finding minimum spanning trees by favoring short connections, and Farris's maximum-parsimony (MP) heuristic algorithm, which sequentially adds new vertices called "median vectors", except that our MJ method does not resolve ties. The MJ method is hence closely related to the earlier approach of Foulds, Hendy, and Penny for estimating MP trees but can be adjusted to the level of homoplasy by setting a parameter epsilon. Unlike our earlier reduced median (RM) network method, MJ is applicable to multistate characters (e.g., amino acid sequences). An additional feature is the speed of the implemented algorithm: a sample of 800 worldwide mtDNA hypervariable segment I sequences requires less than 3 h on a Pentium 120 PC. The MJ method is demonstrated on a Tibetan mitochondrial DNA RFLP data set.","publicationTitle":"Molecular Biology And Evolution","volume":"16","issue":"","pages":"37-48","date":"1999","series":"","seriesTitle":"","seriesText":"","journalAbbreviation":"Mol Biol Evol","language":"English","DOI":"","ISSN":"","shortTitle":"","url":"","accessDate":"","archive":"","archiveLocation":"","libraryCatalog":"","callNumber":"","rights":"","extra":"","tags":[],"collections":["HRIEPTLH"],"relations":{},"dateAdded":"2020-05-14T14:07:41Z","dateModified":"2020-05-14T14:07:41Z"}}
  • Just wanted to follow up on this. Is it possible I have a bad entry that is causing this?
  • @dstillman Thanks for any advice you can provide on this.

    Let me know if I just need to use one of the sync reset options or if its better to switch back to iCloud storage of attachments until a later date. I'm still happy to support Zotero.
  • Sorry for the delay.

    This isn't related to file syncing. It looks like the item is from May 2020, and you would've started getting a sync error as soon as you modified it locally.

    I'm not able to reproduce this in current versions, so it's possible the bug that caused it has been fixed since 2020. The easiest thing to do now is to duplicate the item, move over any child attachments or notes, select both items, and merge them, being sure to select the newer item. Then empty the trash and you should be able to sync.
  • @dstillman Thanks! That seems to have fixed that error, but there appear to be more. I now get :

    JSON.parse: expected ',' or '}' after property value in object at line 1 column 1885 of the JSON data

    I can't figure out how to reconfigure the query you gave me to track this one down. If you tell me how, then I'll try rooting out these bad entries.
  • The latest Zotero beta should ignore this error and allow you to sync. (The fix will be in 6.0.5 soon if you don't want to run the beta, though you can also install it, sync, and switch back to the release version.)
  • @eric.d.crandall: Zotero 6.0.5 is out now with this fix.
  • Fantastic! Thanks so much - it seems to have worked, and is syncing onto my other computer.
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