Indexing... (Dropbox)

This is concerning a case from June 2024:

Problem

On a new Linux Mint installation, I installed Dropbox with my usual account. Some hours later, the status was still Indexing... and no files appeared on this computer.

Possible causes

• Dropbox basically gets overloaded with too many files to index, and it gets stuck somehow [1]
• I'm actually running out of Dropbox storage space (something with server backups). Maybe files are getting added all the time nevertheless, with causes indexing problems
• Indexing is just slow - Keep the computer on, and let's see tomorrow morning.

Additional information

• https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-tips-tricks/How-to-fix-being-stuck-on-Indexing-forever-loop-of-death-on/td-p/575798

Possible solutions

• Dropbox » Preferences » Syncing: Select a small enough subtree and extend from there
• Pause syncing: Indexing will continue under the hood, but much faster now that no new changes have to be incorporated
• Remove Dropbox/.dropbox.cache

Actions

Unless stated otherwise, these actions didn't result in a solution:

• Pause syncing for 15 minutes
• Under Preferences, only select a very small subtree
• Apply same solution as for the Syncing... problem: echo fs.inotify.max_user_watches=100000000 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf; sudo sysctl -p + restart computer

See also

• 'Syncing' maar er gebeurt niets (Dropbox)

Sources

• https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-tips-tricks/How-to-fix-being-stuck-on-Indexing-forever-loop-of-death-on/td-p/575798
• https://askubuntu.com/questions/587873/dropbox-indexing-is-much-slower-in-ubuntu-than-in-windows
• https://askubuntu.com/questions/630374/dropbox-stuck-on-starting