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Moving the Dropbox Folder on Ubuntu

I have been looking but not finding anything... can anyone point me in the right direction for moving the Dropbox folder? I have Ubuntu Server (no Gui) installed and the Dropbox folder (and the two symlinks Dropbox Business created) is located in the home directory. My data is in another directory (seperate hard drive) called Shares. With the receint Dropbox update The symlink I created no longer work and I am dead in the water... Everything I do must be via Command Line...

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Walter

Hi again @MHBoise - that was quick!

Can you first clarify what you mean by "the symlink I created no longer works" ? Are you getting any errors? Could you post any relevant screenshots so we can get a better look?

Also, as moving the Dropbox Folder via the CLI is not supported at this time, you may want to consider unlinking and relinking your account to use the other directory (separate hard drive) - as long as it's of a supported filesystem- upon re-installing.

In any case, please let me know what you find!

PS: I've removed your other post from the public view as you mentioned you wanted it deleted.

Здравко

Hi @MHBoise,

Did you try "mount" either the separate drive or directory (using mount --bind) in Dropbox directory (or corresponding subdirectory)? If not yet, try it. Similar example with some additional options could be found. Take a look there. 😉

Hope this helps.

PS: Just replace symbolic links with mount points. Nothing more!

MHBoise

just so you know the hole setup: I have a small hard drive with the OS and that included my Home directory. The Dropbox folder is located in the Home directory. My Data is located in another directory because it is located on a larger internal drive. So I created a Symlink int he Dropbox folder that points to the lacation of the data file.

Dropbox updated last week and eliminated the functionality of the symlink. My Files at Dropbox are locked up with some kind of error about the file type. I would like to move the Dropbox folder to the directory that the data is on so I can sync up my files since I have no back up or version access now.

My OS and file system are supported. My use of Symlinks and the fact that my data is on a server is not supported.

I would like to fix my files and then either hand over all of our IT to a IT company or just use Dropbox Business as it was intended and have accounts for everyone in the building instead of using the file server.

MHBoise

I will check out the link. The drives are mounted in the Linux system as they are available to access from other computers in the network. Everything was working fine until until the Update from Dropbox

MHBoise

Walter, if I unlinked and then uninstalled Dropbox then reinstalled it... I still wont have a way to designate where the Dropbox folder is. I have not seen any instructions for deciding where the Dropbox folder would be wile installing.

Здравко

Dropbox supports move folders in GUI only.

MHBoise

It seams that is the case... so sad. I might have to fine a 3rd party backup asap. I know it is possible and that someone at Dropbox... since all there servers are Linux... would know how to do it. There is just no documentation on it. I think I am too scared to try the mount thing since it is already mounted... can a drive be mounted in more than one place with out an issue?

Здравко

Hmm... many things are possible, but if you feel not comfortable yourself in system configuration, better ask some more qualified to lead you. In such a case, you don't have to remount your drive. Use directory binding instead (as I noted above using "mount --bind <external dir> <Dropbox subdir>"). Something else: You have to ensure mount will be performed before every Dropbox application run! Easy way is to include corresponding line in "fstab".

ADD: Something important - when you use directory binding, the script noted in my previous post have to be used! Otherwise Dropbox will tell that your FS is incompatible (BUG).

MHBoise

I will keep that in mind... I do know someone who might be able to take the information you provided and impliment it. Thanks

nullptr

I just spent 11 days with dropbox support because I recently tried solving the symlink problem by using a bind mount. Putting a bind mount in your dropbox folder will break the dropbox daemon and prevent it from syncing.

Unfortunately, there are no solutions for those of us that relied on symlinks to backup data outside of the dropbox folder.

Здравко

@nullptr wrote:
...
Unfortunately, there are no solutions for those of us that relied on symlinks to backup data outside of the dropbox folder.

Hi @nullptr,

Your statement isn't true actually! The symbolic link might be most convenient for many users, but isn't the only one.

@nullptr wrote:
... Putting a bind mount in your dropbox folder will break the dropbox daemon and prevent it from syncing.
...

😏 Actually, your statement could be true here (partially). Directory binding is additional layer between underlying file system and users programs. Such a layers interface, on Linux, always have nature of FS interface. In this context - binding falls in FS restrictions of Dropbox (bind interface isn't inside Dropbox "white list"). The truth in your statement is up to here. There is relatively easy way, developed long time ago in context of FS limitation introduction, which just overcome this limitation. Such method could be used and there is example for use here (just change device mount to binding). 😉 That's it.

Enjoy!

nullptr

@Здравко wrote:
(just change device mount to binding). 😉 That's it.

I looked at the code in that post. It looks like it hard-codes filesystem type to EXT4 for stat calls and passes extra mode parameters in open calls. I don't see how this helps. Since I'm already using a bind mount on an EXT4 filesystem unsuccessfully are you saying that a solution is to change the hard-coded file system type? To what? The magic number for directory binding (does this exist)?

nullptr

@Здравко wrote:

Or are you saying that when you use a bind mount, that the fs type passed to stat calls is something other than ext4?

Здравко

@nullptr wrote:
...
I looked at the code in that post. It looks like it hard-codes filesystem type to EXT4 for stat calls and passes extra mode parameters in open calls. I don't see how this helps. ...

Hi @nullptr,

Yes, you are (almost) right. There isn't "extra mode", just parameters forward. I'm not sure what's not clear enough.

@nullptr wrote:
... Since I'm already using a bind mount on an EXT4 filesystem unsuccessfully are you saying that a solution is to change the hard-coded file system type? ...

Yes, exactly!

@nullptr wrote:
...
To what? The magic number for directory binding (does this exist)?

I noted already in previous post. FS-type (and corresponding "magic number"), not directory!

@nullptr wrote:
...
Or are you saying that when you use a bind mount, that the fs type passed to stat calls is something other than ext4?

Yes, exactly!

Hope this adds some clarity.

Midgley

I suppose it might be worth a try to move the Home folder instead of doing tricky things with symlinks and mounting drives in the dropbox folder. Even so think you would need to uninstall dropbox, move the Home folder, or reinstall Linux and designate a Home partition of your choice. Then install Dropbox and everthing would be hunky dory. I will try that some time but for now I have giving up on Dropbox for my work. Currently I am just running rsync -a Lol.

Здравко

Hi @Midgley,

😀😃 If that's sounding easier for you... 😉

Midgley

Lol... I really does! Well maybe not but sometimes it is better than doing too many trix and side steps.

cipherguru

I guess its my lack of understanding of C++ and Ubuntu but I could not understand what you meant by "(just change device mount to binding)"

Does it require change in the source code? Which line? to what?

I tried ad-hoc fixes based on what I could understand

For example, I tried changing EXT4_SUPER_MAGIC to BINDERFS_SUPER_MAGIC but got the error

<stdin>: In function ‘statfs’:
<stdin>:21:19: error: ‘BINDERFS_SUPER_MAGIC’ undeclared (first use in this function)
<stdin>:21:19: note: each undeclared identifier is reported only once for each function it appears in
<stdin>: In function ‘statfs64’:
<stdin>:32:19: error: ‘BINDERFS_SUPER_MAGIC’ undeclared (first use in this function)

undoing the change says

Your Dropbox is already patched.

So I'm doing something wrong.

Здравко

@cipherguru wrote:
I guess its my lack of understanding of C++ and Ubuntu but I could not understand what you meant by "(just change device mount to binding)"
...

Hi @cipherguru,

Actually, there isn't any C++ code! Where you see it? API layer functions are C functions, not C++! Other (biggest) part is a shell-script ('bash' - more precise).

@cipherguru wrote:
...
Does it require change in the source code? Which line? to what?
...

No actually. What make you think that any changes are needed?

@cipherguru wrote:
...
For example, I tried changing EXT4_SUPER_MAGIC to BINDERFS_SUPER_MAGIC but got the error
...

I can't see any reason for such change, but if you want see what FS magic numbers are available for your system, take a look on "/usr/include/linux/magic.h". In my case I can't find "BINDERFS_SUPER_MAGIC". Where you find this from (and more important why - isn't Ext4 enough, though)?

cipherguru

I believe the example does not work anymore.

In more details, I had some folders in my dropbox linked via mount -o bind. These stopped syncing sometime in Feb 2020. The client now does not sync files in those folders and the command line tells me `<filename>: unsyncable` for every such file.

I tried running the script as-is (after the fix mentioned in the original post).. however situation is same. Does this not work anymore?

Are there other alternatives to dropbox that work on ubuntu and dont have this illogical bug.

Здравко

Hi @cipherguru,

I have no idea what exactly you are doing, but I can show you what's going on in my case. "Workaround" script is installed and Dropbox runs. Follows some commands executed exactly in sequence (and the corresponding results):

$ mkdir ~/ATestDir ~/Dropbox/ATestDir
$ echo "Just some text for test. " > ~/ATestDir/test.txt
$ ls -l ~/ATestDir
> общо 12
> -rw-r--r-- 1 zdravko zdravko 28 мар 11 15:30 test.txt
$ ls -l ~/Dropbox/ATestDir
> общо 0
$ sudo mount --bind ~/ATestDir ~/Dropbox/ATestDir
$ ls -l ~/Dropbox/ATestDir
> общо 12
> -rw-r--r-- 1 zdravko zdravko 28 мар 11 15:30 test.txt
$ dropbox filestatus ~/Dropbox/ATestDir/test.txt 
> /home/zdravko/Dropbox/ATestDir/test.txt: up to date

Is this not working?! i.e. a file created and existing outside Dropbox directory (file test.txt in "~/ATestDir" in particular) is mapped to and in sync in the Dropbox directory ("~/Dropbox/ATestDir" in particular), very similarly to a symbolic link. Review what you are doing! The only thing which have to be corrected is the forum bug (I emphasize here "FORUM") related to one variable name (which you declare done). That's it, nothing more.

Good luck.

cipherguru

I'm unable to use this from outside the home folder

tim@hn:~$ mkdir ~/BTest ~/Dropbox/BTest
tim@hn:~$ echo "Just some text for test" > ~/BTest/test.txt
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind ~/BTest ~/Dropbox/BTest
tim@hn:~$ dropbox filestatus ~/Dropbox/BTest/test.txt
/home/tim/Dropbox/BTest/test.txt: up to date

tim@hn:~$ mkdir ~/CTest ~/Dropbox/CTest ~/DTest
tim@hn:~$ echo "Just some text for test" > ~/DTest/test.txt
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind ~/DTest ~/CTest
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind ~/CTest ~/Dropbox/CTest
tim@hn:~$ dropbox filestatus ~/Dropbox/CTest/test.txt
/home/tim/Dropbox/CTest/test.txt: up to date

tim@hn:~$ mkdir ~/ETest ~/Dropbox/ETest /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest
tim@hn:~$ echo "Just some text for test" > /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest/test.txt
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest ~/ETest
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind ~/ETest ~/Dropbox/ETest
tim@hn:~$ dropbox filestatus ~/Dropbox/ETest/test.txt
/home/tim/Dropbox/ETest/test.txt: unsyncable

tim@hn:~$ mkdir ~/Dropbox/GTest /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest
tim@hn:~$ echo "Just some text for test" > /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest/test.txt
tim@hn:~$ sudo mount --bind /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest ~/Dropbox/GTest
tim@hn:~$ dropbox filestatus ~/Dropbox/GTest/test.txt
/home/tim/Dropbox/GTest/test.txt: unsyncable

Здравко

What are these intermediate mount point for (i.e. "~/CTest" and "~/ETest" in your examples)? They are meaningless. Only increases the load to some extent, nothing more. Are you sure the owning and access rights are set as needed on the other storages (i.e. to you)? I can't see a result from commands like:

ls -al /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest
ls -al /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest

And to be sure what exactly gets mapped, check too:

ls -al ~/Dropbox/ETest
ls -al ~/Dropbox/GTest

cipherguru

Here is the info you need plus a bit more.. hope some clue here. Intermediate mount points to show that nested bind mount works in certain cases and not others.

tim@hn:~$ ls -al /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest
total 12
drwxrwxr-x  2 tim tim 4096 Mar 12 01:24 .
drwx------ 22 tim tim 4096 Mar 12 01:25 ..
-rw-rw-r--  1 tim tim   24 Mar 12 02:07 test.txt

tim@hn:~$ ls -al /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest
total 12
drwxrwxr-x  2 tim tim 4096 Mar 12 01:25 .
drwx------ 22 tim tim 4096 Mar 12 01:25 ..
-rw-rw-r--  1 tim tim   24 Mar 12 02:07 test.txt

tim@hn:~$ ls -al ~/Dropbox/ETest
total 48
drwxrwxr-x   2 tim tim  4096 Mar 12 01:24 .
drwxrwxr-x 440 tim tim 32768 Mar 12 02:07 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 tim tim    24 Mar 12 02:07 test.txt

tim@hn:~$ ls -al ~/Dropbox/GTest
total 48
drwxrwxr-x   2 tim tim  4096 Mar 12 01:25 .
drwxrwxr-x 440 tim tim 32768 Mar 12 02:07 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 tim tim    24 Mar 12 02:07 test.txt

tim@hn:~$ cat /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/FTest/test.txt
Just some text for test

tim@hn:~$ cat /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822/GTest/test.txt
Just some text for test

tim@hn:~$ cat ~/Dropbox/ETest/test.txt
Just some text for test

tim@hn:~$ cat ~/Dropbox/GTest/test.txt
Just some text for test

tim@hn:~$ mount | grep 74bcf733
/dev/mapper/luks-60d82ae3-53f5-4e69-adea-98fa841b015c on /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822 type ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,data=ordered)

tim@hn:~$ cat /etc/fstab | grep 74bcf733
/dev/disk/by-uuid/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822 /mnt/74bcf733-f29b-42db-bedd-1882056fb822 auto nosuid,nodev,nofail 0 0

Здравко

Hi @cipherguru,

Yes, you are right. Unfortunately seems Dropbox had changed their way to check used FS. Some time ago the check was independent for every one FS element (file or folder). Now seems full FS check is performed only for the Dropbox folder, itself; further, the folder content is checked to be part of the same block unit. This second check is something new and will affect any mount of something outside current block unit (real or virtual), don't even need to be another drive or partition. Dropbox doesn't try extend application feature set, but make users life heavier instead, again! Long time I hadn't used such type of mounts. Have to be considered this case (current workaround still work, but should to be extended to cover the case). If you have a time, while keep current solution, try find and reimplement other "guilty" functions (in the same way as those already swapped). I will try take a look when possible.

Good luck.

rjk

Having a real hard time figuring out if I can move the Dropbox folder to anywhere other than my home directory on a headless ubuntu server install - can it be done? If not, why not and are there any workarounds?

My home directory is on a smaller SSD, but I want my Dropbox archives to live on my larger redundant ZFS pool. The location I want to use is /pool/dropbox/ but I have been unable to get it to work whether by symlinking to my home dir or changing a bunch of parameters in my systemd service definition for Dropbox.

Help!