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. Some days later, this hasn't changed (the computer wasn't online for days on end, just intermittently).

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