Everdo versions
- Client 1: Windows Desktop: 1.11.15
- Server: Linux AppImage (Debian): 1.11.15
- Client 2: Android: 1.10.0
Sync setup
- Local Network Sync
- One desktop machine configured as the server
- Clients:
- Windows desktop
- Debian machine running the AppImage
- Android phone
All devices are on the same local network and can communicate with the server without any apparent connectivity issues.
Problem Description
I am seeing what appears to be a synchronization issue specifically affecting the Focus list.
The issue is difficult to reproduce reliably, but after using Everdo for some time, different clients occasionally show different Focus lists even though synchronization succeeds.
Examples include:
- Tasks manually added to Focus appearing on one device but not another.
- Tasks with due dates that should appear in Focus on all devices being present on some devices but missing on others.
What Works
The sync mechanism itself appears to be functioning correctly.
For example, if I keep the Android app open and make changes on another device, I can often watch (Focus) items appear and disappear almost immediately on all devices. This confirms to me that:
- Clients can successfully connect to the server.
- Synchronization is running and working.
- Changes are normally annouced between devices.
From my perspective, synchronization of non-focus items appears to work always correctly.
What Doesn’t Work
Occasionally, some Focus-related changes seem to be missed and I see older focus items that I have un-focussed or have otherwise dealt with in the past.
This means, that I am basically dealing with old focus items (sometimes 1-2 weeks old) populating my list, which I have already dealt with previously. Let’s call them “sticky”.
Workaround
The inconsistency can usually be resolved immediately when I force a manual refresh.
Desktop
Settings → Sync → Sync Now (Manual Client)
Android
Settings → Manual Sync Actions → Pull from Server
As soon as one of these actions is performed, these “sticky” Focus items disappear and all clients and the server become consistent again.
According to the documentation, normal automatic synchronization uses an incremental sync, while Pull from Server copies the complete dataset from the server. The documentation also mentions that devices can sometimes get out of sync and that incremental sync may not detect an older discrepancy.
This makes me wonder whether some Focus-related state changes are occasionally not being included in the incremental synchronization process, even though the underlying tasks themselves are syncing correctly.
Do you have this on your radar and possibly even a suggestion of how I could tackle this issue?
Illustrations
Windows client:
Android client:
