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[marfon]

18 minutes ago, vitor said:

But how? That’s the question. Are you using the iCloud setting to sync your Desktop and Documents, is that it?

I sync by setting the sync folder in Preferences>Advanced to ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred on all machines. Syncing then happens automatically, and I don't do anything more.

 

OK, I'll invoke the keyword and check the debugger. Remember that the issue up to now has been that nothing shows in the debugger on the laptops that present the error. I'll post in several hours.

[vitor]

3 hours ago, marfon said:

I sync by setting the sync folder in Preferences>Advanced to ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred on all machines. Syncing then happens automatically, and I don't do anything more.

 

To be clear, setting a sync folder in Alfred doesn’t do any syncing, it only changes the location of the preferences. For any syncing to happen, you need to have an external service (e.g. Dropbox) which does it. The setting is for you to set a location which already syncs for another reason.

 

Could you verify if you enabled Desktop and Documents to be synced?

 

The reason I’m a bit insistent on that is that syncing seems to be at the core of the issue, so it’s paramount we understand exactly what method you’re using so we can debug.

[marfon]

My ~/Documents folder syncs via iCloud, which includes my ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred folder.

 

So that means I make the change on laptop 1, which alters the file ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred/Alfred.alfredpreferences, then that file syncs to laptops 2 and 3, then Alfred on laptops 2 and 3 pick up the change from the newly synced file. Right?

[vitor]

3 minutes ago, marfon said:

which alters the file ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred/Alfred.alfredpreferences

 

Technically that is a bundle, like a macOS app. You can right click it and Show Package Contents to navigate inside it. That might help you to see the modification dates and make sure the syncing is done. A better option is to right click the workflow in Alfred Preferences and Reveal in Finder.

 

4 minutes ago, marfon said:

So that means (…) Right?

 

Correct, assuming iCloud Drive is doing the syncing correctly (historically iCloud Drive has been unreliable, which is why it’s recommended against, but many use it without a problem).

 

9 hours ago, marfon said:

Remember that the issue up to now has been that nothing shows in the debugger on the laptops that present the error.

 

Forgot to comment on this before. Having the video of the process would be very useful, because when there’s miscommunication or differing assumptions, that often makes it clear.

[marfon]

I still need more time to get to laptop 3. Quick comment: when I do Reveal in Finder, it simply shows me the file ~/Documents/var/computing/Apple/MacOS/Alfred/Alfred.alfredpreferences. When I inspect into the package, the workflows are not listed by user-friendly names, but I guess I can go by the modification date.

 

For various reasons, I have no option but to use iCloud for syncing. If we determine that iCloud is the culprit, I guess you're saying to stop syncing and just maintain Alfred by hand on the three different computers.

 

Sure, I expect I can make a video.

[marfon]

I've now installed via the link and assigned the hotkey cmd-ctrl-shift-U. Laptop 1 works normally, but laptop 2 simply doesn't respond at all: nothing in the debugger, no error popup. Going by the modification dates in the workflow folder of the package and the workflow ID, I can see it's been updated on laptop 2 as expected.

 

At this point, it seems we have to conclude that this is one of the cases where iCloud syncing breaks the workflow even if it doesn't break any other of my workflows. I think my best strategy, then, is to stop syncing preferences and maintain my Alfred config by hand on each of my computers. That works for me because, at this point, my Alfred setup is very stable, so I expect I won't miss syncing that much.

[marfon]

I now don't find a way to turn off syncing or to control synced features, so I assigned each laptop its own separate folder to sync to. As soon as I did that, the workflow worked correctly without having to reinstall. Does that mean that the workflow caches info on one laptop that then confuses the copies of the same workflow on the other synced laptops? I mean, I'm prepared to do this end run around syncing, but it would be better to sync if possible given Alfred's many settings and options.

[vitor]

8 hours ago, marfon said:

I now don't find a way to turn off syncing or to control synced features

 

Resetting the Sync Folder to the default folder.

 

8 hours ago, marfon said:

Does that mean

 

Without the video and running it with the keyword instead of the hotkey, I can’t say anything for sure. It would be speculation.

 

8 hours ago, marfon said:

but it would be better to sync if possible

 

If one computer is the main one (seems to be), the Backup Preferences workflow will make that simple.