Troubleshooting

First steps for any problem#

1. Check Connection health. Open Settings → General → Troubleshooting. It shows the server and account in use, whether real-time push is working and how the last sync went.
2. Look at the logs. Click View logs in the same section. If you are chasing a problem, tick Verbose (debug) logging first, make the problem happen again, then look at the newest lines.
3. Restart Nimbo. Right-click the tray icon, choose Quit Nimbo, then start it again from the Start menu. Nimbo keeps its sync state on disk, so restarting is always safe.
4. Update. A fix may already be out, see Updates.

Sync is not happening#

• Is it paused? While syncing is paused, the status line at the bottom of the panel says Paused, with the time it resumes if you set one, and the pause button turns into ▶, which resumes it. Quiet hours under Settings → Sync also pause syncing on a schedule.
• Is it signed in? If the server refuses Nimbo's app password, for example because it was revoked in Nextcloud, the panel asks you to sign in again.
• One file will not sync. When something needs attention the panel shows a ⚠ … needs attention · Review → bar, which opens the Can't sync tab of the Sync status window with the reason for each file. The usual reasons are a name Windows does not allow (see Known limitations), a file the server refuses such as .htaccess (see File modes), or a name that matches one of your ignore patterns.
• A document stays waiting. Files that another program has open and keeps writing to, such as an Outlook .pst file, are held until the program lets go of them and then uploaded once.

"Couldn't reach the server to check your files"#

This appears when you change File availability and Nimbo cannot contact your server to compare your files with it. Nothing has been changed, the switch is simply not made. Check that the server opens in your browser and that Connection health shows it, then try again.

A folder says "Sync paused — needs review"#

This is Nimbo's damage guard. It pauses a folder when one sync would remove or replace at least half of its files (and at least 50 of them), or when the server suddenly lists far fewer files than Nimbo knows about. Nothing was changed on your PC, nothing was downloaded or removed.

Usually there is an ordinary reason, for example the folder was moved, renamed or cleared out on purpose, or a large reorganisation was made on another computer. Occasionally it is not, for example a server restored from an old backup, or ransomware encrypting files in place, which is why the guard counts files being replaced as well as deleted.

1. Open the folder on the server in your browser and check that it looks right.
2. If it does, click Resume syncing in Settings, and the next sync applies the change.
3. If it does not, leave the folder paused and sort out the server first. Your copy on this PC is complete, and in some of these cases it is the best copy of your data left.

If a resumed sync is interrupted part way, for example by the network dropping, the folder pauses again. Resume has not failed, click it again.

Where did a deleted file go?#

When a file is deleted on the server, Nimbo sends your copy to the Recycle Bin rather than deleting it outright, so you can get it back from there. A file too big for the Recycle Bin is moved aside instead, and Nimbo's notification says where to. Files deleted on your PC are in Nextcloud's Deleted files.

A shared folder disappeared from the server but is still on my PC#

That is deliberate, see When something is no longer shared with you.

Virtual file system problems#

• Opening a file fails. An online-only file downloads when you open it, which needs the server to be reachable. Check Connection health.

• Explorer is slow the first time you open a folder. Nimbo fills in a folder's contents the first time you browse into it, and it is quick after that.

• Folders keep the circular arrows. See Explorer status icons.

• "The cloud file metadata is corrupt and unreadable". Older versions could leave some folder entries broken in this way when a folder held a file with a very long path. Newer versions do not create them, however entries that are already broken cannot be opened or deleted normally, even by Nimbo, and reinstalling does not clear them. Your files are safe on the server, the broken entries are empty. To clear them, quit Nimbo and any other cloud sync apps such as OneDrive, open PowerShell as administrator and run the following, with the fsutil and Remove-Item lines repeated for each broken entry (and C: changed if your sync folder is on another drive):

  fltmc detach cldflt C:
  fsutil reparsepoint delete 'C:\Users\<you>\Nextcloud\<broken entry>'
  Remove-Item -LiteralPath '\\?\C:\Users\<you>\Nextcloud\<broken entry>' -Recurse -Force
  fltmc attach cldflt C:
  

  Start Nimbo again and it recreates the entries properly.

If virtual mode is misbehaving and you need your files now, switching File availability back to Live file system is always available and does not delete anything.

Explorer integration#

• Badges missing in live mode. Windows only has room for a limited number of icon badges across all programs, and other sync apps such as OneDrive and Dropbox use them too. If you do not use one of those apps, uninstalling it frees space. Syncing is not affected either way.
• Nimbo missing from the right-click menu. Tick Add "Share with Nimbo" to the Explorer right-click menu under Settings → General → System integration, then restart Explorer.
• Icons or menu items missing after installing or switching mode. Restart Explorer, or sign out of Windows and back in, since Explorer only loads these when it starts.

Sign-in problems#

• The browser opens but Nimbo never finishes signing in. Something between your PC and the server, such as a proxy or firewall, may be blocking the login. Check that https://<your server>/status.php opens in a browser on the same PC.
• Signing in keeps failing. Nimbo keeps its app password in the Windows Credential Manager under nimbo. Removing that entry and signing in again is a clean reset for sign-in problems.

Starting again on this PC#

To set this PC up from scratch without touching anything on the server, use Settings → General → Account → Sign out and tick Also remove this device's sync setup & database. Your files stay where they are, and the next sign-in starts clean.

Warning: Do not delete your local sync folder while you are still signed in with it set up. The next sync could read the missing files as deletions. The sign-out option above exists to avoid exactly that.

Reporting a bug#

If none of this helps, click Report a problem… under Settings → General → Troubleshooting. Nimbo saves your logs and some details about your setup to a zip file in your Downloads folder, and opens a bug report on GitHub. Fill in the form and attach the zip. Nothing is sent anywhere automatically, so have a look through the zip first if you want to check what is in it.

If Nimbo will not start or an update failed, open an issue at github.com/otherworld-dev/Nimbo/issues instead, and attach nimbo-update.log from your user folder (C:\Users\<you>) if it is about an update.