fix(cmd,csync): anchor --exclude patterns at the sync root regardless of filename by mosandlt · Pull Request #10284 · nextcloud/desktop

mosandlt · 2026-07-02T04:45:17Z

Summary

nextcloudcmd --exclude <path> silently produced zero exclusions for every pattern in the file, unless <path> happened to be literally named sync-exclude.lst — with no warning or error anywhere. Any other filename (a typo'd extension, a descriptive name, a per-tool name like myapp-exclude.lst) caused every single pattern to be matched against the wrong base directory, so none of them ever excluded anything under the sync root.

Root cause

ExcludedFiles::addExcludeFilePath() in src/csync/csync_exclude.cpp anchors patterns either at the sync root (_localPath) or at the exclude file's own containing directory, based on a filename check: literally sync-exclude.lst → sync root, anything else → own directory.

That heuristic was introduced in 5788f35 (2020-12-09, "Skip sync exclude file from list of exclude files if it doesn't exist") to merge two previously-separate code paths: the GUI's global exclude list (always named sync-exclude.lst, lives outside any sync folder, needs sync-root anchoring) and a per-directory .sync-exclude.lst discovered during traversal (needs anchoring at its own directory). It was a side effect of that merge, not a deliberate choice — the commit's own description and linked issue are unrelated to anchoring behavior.

src/cmd/cmd.cpp passes the CLI's --exclude value into the same function unconditionally, so it inherited this GUI-specific heuristic even though CLI users can name their exclude file anything.

Reported independently by multiple users, never properly root-caused:

nextcloudcmd --exclude does not support a hierarchy of directories #2916 — a comment on that issue arrives at the exact same "must be named sync-exclude.lst" diagnosis by trial and error
[Bug]: nextcloudcmd doesn't exclude directory basing on exclude-list #7682 — closed not-planned with a reply that doesn't address the actual anchoring bug

Fix

Add an explicit anchorToLocalPath parameter to addExcludeFilePath() (default false, preserving current behavior everywhere else) and set it for the CLI's --exclude option in cmd.cpp, so its patterns are always anchored at the sync root regardless of the file's name.

Test plan

New unit test: testAddExcludeFilePath_anchorToLocalPath_bypassesFilenameHeuristic
Full ExcludedFilesTest suite: 25 passed, 0 failed
Manual repro against a live Nextcloud account: an --exclude file not named sync-exclude.lst previously had zero effect (excluded directories were downloaded anyway); after this fix they are correctly skipped (FileIgnored) with no behavior change for GUI-managed exclude lists

Checklist

Sign-off message is added to all commits.
The commit history is clean with no merge commits.
- How to rebase your commits
- How to squash commits with rebase
Uploaded screenshots from before and after for UI changes. (N/A — no UI changes, CLI-only fix)
Documentation has been updated or is not required. (not required — internal bug fix, no user-facing behavior/doc change beyond the fix itself)
Backports requested where applicable (critical bugfixes). (left for maintainer triage)
Labels added where applicable (bug/enhancement). (no label permissions on this repo)
Milestone added for target version. (left for maintainer triage)

AI (if applicable)

The content of this PR was partly or fully generated using AI
- I have read the guidelines for AI-assisted contributions.
- I have read Nextcloud's AI Contribution Policy.

mgallien

nice idea
please have a look at my comments and let me know if things are not clear

mgallien · 2026-07-02T07:59:57Z

mosandlt · 2026-07-02T10:12:58Z

Added the checklist back, including the AI disclosure section and an Assisted-by: ClaudeCode:claude-sonnet-5 trailer on the commit (force-pushed). Let me know if anything else is missing.

mgallien · 2026-07-02T14:39:24Z

Added the checklist back, including the AI disclosure section and an Assisted-by: ClaudeCode:claude-sonnet-5 trailer on the commit (force-pushed). Let me know if anything else is missing.

thanks for the quick reply
please also have a look at my review comments on the code itself

mosandlt · 2026-07-02T17:45:08Z

Addressed all three review comments:

Replaced the bool anchorToLocalPath param with a scoped ExcludedFiles::ExcludeFileAnchor enum (FileDirectory / SyncRoot) for readability at call sites.
Kept the doc comment on addExcludeFilePath() in csync_exclude.h, updated for the enum.
Trimmed the redundant issue-reference comment in the test file (context is in the commit message).

Also rebased onto current master to pick up #10283 (which landed the missing---exclude-file fatal-error check) and merged that with this fix's sync-root anchoring in cmd.cpp. Force-pushed.

… of filename Summary nextcloudcmd --exclude <path> silently produced zero exclusions for every pattern in the file, unless <path> happened to be literally named "sync-exclude.lst" -- with no warning or error anywhere. Any other filename (a typo'd extension, a descriptive name, a per-tool name like myapp-exclude.lst) caused every single pattern to be matched against the wrong base directory, so none of them ever excluded anything under the sync root. Root cause ExcludedFiles::addExcludeFilePath() in src/csync/csync_exclude.cpp anchors patterns either at the sync root (_localPath) or at the exclude file's own containing directory, based on a filename check: literally "sync-exclude.lst" -> sync root, anything else -> own directory. That heuristic was introduced in 5788f35 (2020-12-09, "Skip sync exclude file from list of exclude files if it doesn't exist") to merge two previously-separate code paths: the GUI's global exclude list (always named sync-exclude.lst, lives outside any sync folder, needs sync-root anchoring) and a per-directory .sync-exclude.lst discovered during traversal (needs anchoring at its own directory). It was a side effect of that merge, not a deliberate choice -- the commit's own description and linked issue are unrelated to anchoring behavior. src/cmd/cmd.cpp passes the CLI's --exclude value into the same function unconditionally, so it inherited this GUI-specific heuristic even though CLI users can name their exclude file anything. Reported independently by multiple users: nextcloud#2916, nextcloud#7682, and a comment diagnosing the exact same filename dependency on nextcloud#2916. Fix Add an explicit anchorToLocalPath parameter to addExcludeFilePath() (default false, preserving current behavior everywhere else) and set it for the CLI's --exclude option in cmd.cpp, so its patterns are always anchored at the sync root regardless of the file's name. Test plan - [x] New unit test: testAddExcludeFilePath_anchorToLocalPath_bypassesFilenameHeuristic - [x] Full ExcludedFilesTest suite: 25 passed, 0 failed - [x] Manual repro against a live Nextcloud account: an --exclude file not named sync-exclude.lst previously had zero effect (excluded directories were downloaded anyway); after this fix they are correctly skipped (FileIgnored) with no behavior change for GUI-managed exclude lists. Signed-off-by: Thomas Mosandl <[email protected]> Assisted-by: ClaudeCode:claude-sonnet-5

mosandlt · 2026-07-04T19:05:53Z

Rebased onto current master. Also just double-checked against your 3 review comments — all already addressed in the current HEAD (the fixes must have landed after your review, before you could see the update):

csync_exclude.cpp: parameter is now an enum class (ExcludeFileAnchor::FileDirectory / SyncRoot) instead of a bool
csync_exclude.h: addExcludeFilePath() now has a full doc comment explaining the anchoring heuristic and when to use SyncRoot
testexcludedfiles.cpp: trimmed the test comment down to 3 lines describing only what the test does, moved the issue-number/root-cause context to the commit message where it already lived

Let me know if anything still needs another pass.

mosandlt requested review from camilasan, i2h3, mgallien and nilsding as code owners July 2, 2026 04:45

mosandlt force-pushed the fix-exclude-cli-anchor-basepath branch from 46bca62 to 770e9e8 Compare July 2, 2026 04:46

mgallien requested changes Jul 2, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread src/csync/csync_exclude.cpp Outdated

Comment thread src/csync/csync_exclude.h Outdated

Comment thread test/testexcludedfiles.cpp Outdated

mosandlt force-pushed the fix-exclude-cli-anchor-basepath branch from 770e9e8 to 1e0a8af Compare July 2, 2026 10:12

mosandlt force-pushed the fix-exclude-cli-anchor-basepath branch from 1e0a8af to e5db10e Compare July 2, 2026 17:44

mosandlt force-pushed the fix-exclude-cli-anchor-basepath branch from e5db10e to a52f79a Compare July 4, 2026 19:05

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Uh oh!

fix(cmd,csync): anchor --exclude patterns at the sync root regardless of filename#10284

fix(cmd,csync): anchor --exclude patterns at the sync root regardless of filename#10284
mosandlt wants to merge 1 commit into
nextcloud:masterfrom
mosandlt:fix-exclude-cli-anchor-basepath

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

mgallien left a comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

mgallien commented Jul 2, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mgallien commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 4, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Uh oh!

Conversation

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Summary

Root cause

Fix

Test plan

Checklist

AI (if applicable)

Uh oh!

mgallien left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

mgallien commented Jul 2, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Checklist

AI (if applicable)

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mgallien commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026

Uh oh!

mosandlt commented Jul 4, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

mosandlt commented Jul 2, 2026 •

edited

Loading

mgallien commented Jul 2, 2026 •

edited

Loading