alfred workflow doesn’t work when preferences are synced with Dropbox

[vijendra]

My Alfred preferences have been seamlessly synchronized with Dropbox for an extended period, functioning perfectly until a few months ago. Now, certain workflows, especially those containing .sh or Python scripts, fail to execute.

The error message I receive is 'Couldn't posix_spawn: error 1.'

Interestingly, if I download the workflow anew and integrate it, it functions correctly. However, the issue recurs once Dropbox synchronizes it with another Mac. Despite verifying that the paths and permissions are correctly set, the problem persists.

 

[Vero]

@vijendra The first thing to check is whether your Dropbox folder is set to keep preferences available offline:

https://www.alfredapp.com/help/advanced/sync/#always-offline

 

This is essential for Alfred to have reliable access to the preferences. 

[vijendra]

I have a free version of Dropbox... so it's available offline. 

 

[Vero]

@vijendra You specifically need to right-click the folder in which you store your preferences, and choose "Make available offline" from the Dropbox menu in Finder, in order for this to always be reflected in the way files are handled.

 

Once you've done this, see whether you're still encountering the issue. If you are, please set your sync location to a local folder on your Mac (~/Alfred/  in your home folder, for example, not in an iCloud synced location like Documents or Desktop) and try again. This will help establish whether the issue you're seeing is the result of syncing.

 

[Stephen_C]

See also this thread which refers to the same error.

 

Edit: Also this thread onwards from the linked post.

 

Stephen

Edited February 14 by Stephen_C

[vijendra]

as i said permissoins are correct as there is no change... 

[vitor]

Are you using the official Dropbox app on both Macs? That’s the exact kind of issue that would happen by using a third-party client like Maestral, for example. Something on either of your Macs is either evicting files from local storage (as per explanations above) or removing the executable bit of scripts (which can also be caused by bad syncing). Both of those also explain why reinstalling a workflow would fix it. Moving your preferences to a non-synced folder, as per above, should do it too. Think back to when it started and what changes you made to your Mac then, and you may find the cause.

[vijendra]

as i said i have the Dropbox app

 

 

[Vero]

@vijendra To clarify, Alfred does not handle the syncing, Dropbox does. If you've configured Dropbox / your Mac in an unusual way, or Dropbox is offloading the files in any way, this will cause the issue you're seeing.

 

We're all here to help you resolve your issue, so I'd ask that you please follow the suggestion I made in my earlier post, which involves setting up a non-Dropbox sync location:

 

19 hours ago, Vero said:

please set your sync location to a local folder on your Mac (~/Alfred/  in your home folder, for example, not in an iCloud synced location like Documents or Desktop) and try again. This will help establish whether the issue you're seeing is the result of syncing.

 

Once you've done this, please get back to us. Share as much information as possible about your configuration if it's in any way non-standard so that we can help you get to the bottom of this quickly.