What causes "workspace dir [%s] is in third party sync dir" in siyuan-note/siyuan?

Move the workspace to a plain local directory outside any cloud-sync folder (e.g. ~/Documents/SiYuan).

workspace dir [%s] is in third party sync dir

Error message

workspace dir [%s] is in third party sync dir

What it means

Reported via ReportFileSysFatalError (kernel/util/runtime.go:281) when IsCloudDrivePath(WorkspaceDir) returns true during the periodic filesystem consistency check. ReportFileSysFatalError logs and calls os.Exit(logging.ExitCodeFileSysErr), so this error TERMINATES THE KERNEL. SiYuan refuses to run on top of third-party sync folders because they corrupt the .sy block tree via concurrent rename/write.

Source

Thrown at kernel/util/runtime.go:281

	for {
		<-thirdPartySyncCheckTicker.C
		checkFileSysStatus()
	}
}

func checkFileSysStatus() {
	defer logging.Recover()

	if !checkFileSysStatusLock.TryLock() {
		logging.LogWarnf("check file system status is locked, skip")
		return
	}
	defer checkFileSysStatusLock.Unlock()

	const fileSysStatusCheckFile = ".siyuan/filesys_status_check"
	if IsCloudDrivePath(WorkspaceDir) {
		ReportFileSysFatalError(fmt.Errorf("workspace dir [%s] is in third party sync dir", WorkspaceDir))
		return
	}

	dir := filepath.Join(DataDir, fileSysStatusCheckFile)
	if err := os.RemoveAll(dir); err != nil {
		ReportFileSysFatalError(err)
		return
	}

	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
		ReportFileSysFatalError(err)
		return
	}

	for range 7 {
		tmp := filepath.Join(dir, "check_consistency")
		data := make([]byte, 1024*4)
		_, err := rand.Read(data)

View on GitHub (pinned to 251596fc0d)

Solutions

Move the workspace to a plain local directory outside any cloud-sync folder (e.g. ~/Documents/SiYuan).
Use SiYuan's built-in sync (S3/WebDAV/liuyun) instead of a sync-client folder.
If you must keep files in a sync folder for read-only backup, exclude the workspace from the sync client's watch list.
After moving, restart the kernel — the check only re-evaluates on each tick after boot.

Example fix

// before: workspace = /Users/me/OneDrive/SiYuan
// kernel exits with: workspace dir [...] is in third party sync dir

// after: move workspace out of the sync folder and reconfigure
// 设置 - 关于 - 工作空间 -> /Users/me/Documents/SiYuan
// then restart SiYuan

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Pre-check at startup or before assigning a workspace
if util.IsCloudDrivePath(candidateWorkspace) {
    return fmt.Errorf("refusing workspace %s: it is inside a cloud-sync folder", candidateWorkspace)
}

Try / catch

// This error is FATAL (os.Exit) — there is no catch. The only defense is prevention:
// never start the kernel with a workspace inside a sync folder.

Prevention

Never place the workspace under OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, pCloud, 坚果云, 天翼云, or iCloud.
Use SiYuan's built-in sync (S3/WebDAV/liuyun) for cross-device data.
If you must co-exist with a sync client, exclude the workspace directory from its watch list.
After moving the workspace, restart the kernel so the periodic check re-evaluates.

When it happens

Trigger: The workspace directory path matches a known cloud-sync folder: OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, pCloud, 坚果云 (Nutstore), 天翼云, or (on macOS) an iCloud ubiquitous location detected via system metadata. The check runs on the thirdPartySyncCheckTicker every cycle once CheckFileSysStatus starts.

Common situations: User picks ~/OneDrive/SiYuan or ~/Dropbox/SiYuan as the workspace; macOS user puts the workspace under ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs; first-run dialog ignored; workspace moved into a sync folder after initial setup.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of siyuan-note/siyuan@251596fc0d (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/542f2635c97409be. Report an issue: GitHub.