iCloud Sync Shows Documents, Desktop Folder as 'Not Downloaded'

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Level 1

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iCloud Sync Shows Documents, Desktop Folder as 'Not Downloaded'

Having iCloud sync issues. Originally I had numerous folders showing a mix of 'download pending' or 'upload pending' icons - but for folders only, not files. I've since turned off iCloud sync for Documents and Desktop, then re-enabled it which has cleared then re-synced everything. Now though, while it appears everything has synced (as best I can tell), it still shows the Documents and Desktop folders as 'Not Downloaded', per below image. Note: it's just these two folders showing this status - everything else seems to be fully sync'd. Right-clicking and "Download Now" does not help. I've restarted and waited days and no effect; remains the same.

If I run the terminal command 'brctl status' I see the following 'needs-sync-up' items in the queue:

brctl status |grep needs-sync-

        r:58 i:<documents[47]> al:47 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[47]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438236 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:42 i:<documents[31]> al:31 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[31]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438149 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:69 i:<documents[59]> al:59 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:1 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[59]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438275 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:75 i:<documents[60]> al:60 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:1 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[60]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438277 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:43 i:<documents[32]> al:32 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[32]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438154 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:19 i:<documents[8]> al:8 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[8]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438026 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:23 i:<documents[12]> al:12 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[12]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438050 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:21 i:<documents[10]> al:10 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[10]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438036 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:32 i:<documents[21]> al:21 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[21]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438097 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:18 i:<documents[7]> al:7 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[7]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438021 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:49 i:<documents[38]> al:38 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[38]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438184 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:17 i:<documents[6]> al:6 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target} up:needs-sync-up uv:0 mt:1663632144 st{p:<root[6]> n:"D{7}s" dir-fault bt:1663632144 m:rw- creator:0 ino:21438012 gen:1 sc:data}
        r:22 i:<documents[11]> al:11 ld{share-synced-all|st-mode|st-hidden-ext|st-xattr|st-trash-put-back|st-symlink-target}

Plus a few more. These look like symbolic links to something (perhaps to things that no longer exist)? Does anyone know what they are or how to clean them up so I can successfully finish the iCloud sync?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Sep 22, 2022 5:21 PM

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Answer 1

DiZoE

Level 4

3,083 points

Sep 22, 2022 11:37 PM in response to DJHn

Hey DJHn!

Can you say if it was working fine at one point, then stopped working? And if any changes were made during this time period?

And likewise, if this is a new Mac and you have transferred the data from an old one? Or even if this is your first time enabling iCloud Drive on this device? If the same result happens on other devices? How much data you use in iCloud Drive and how long it’s been since the initial time you enabled it? And finally if any other changes were made, such as moving locations, internet provider changes, etc:?

Appreciate it, those answers may help in troubleshooting effectively for a path to a resolution.

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Answer 2

DJHn Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 23, 2022 4:34 PM in response to DiZoE

I had problems with some folders showing 'download pending' or similar for a while. I noticed it occurred when I created or moved a file to the folder then renamed (or similar) before sync'ing occurred. This would sometimes cause the issue. To partially solve the issue, I could:

Create a new folder
Move everything from the 'non-syncing' folder into the new folder
Delete the old folder
Rename the new folder to assume the name of the old

But this is only a temporary fix - and if the Documents\folder\was\several\levels\deep\ then I'd need to do this all the way down the path - until I got to the 'Documents' folder (for example), which I can't really do that for as it's the iCloud root.

Suggestions that I 'touch' the folder not syncing does not help.

This is on a current-gen MacBook Pro but not 'new' as such. I have a second older MacBook Pro which is also sync'ing the same folders, but it does not experience this issue (both Documents and Desktop are fully sync'd).

I am only using about 400Gb of the 2Tb on iCloud available. No other notable changes.

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iCloud Sync Shows Documents, Desktop Folder as 'Not Downloaded'

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