new installation deleted half my files till microsoft locked client

[switch7derek]

hi, i've been using this product on a number of machines for a number of years. i just did a new build, linux xubuntu, and installed onedrive and then did onedrive --synchronize. after watching things get started normally i walked away. when i returned the last message on the screen was: ERROR: An attempt to remove a large volume of data from OneDrive has been detected. Exiting client to preserve data on OneDrive
ERROR: To delete delete a large volume of data use --force or increase the config value 'classify_as_big_delete' to a larger value
thinking to myself, "naaaa, that couldn't have really just happened", i log into my account via the web interface, and sure enough, i have lost at least half of my repository. i have no idea why this happened. the only thing i can think that was different with this build/install is that i put the root onedrive folder on a m2 drive mounted at /opt, where as on all my other installs i've gone with the default ~/OneDrive.
i am not raising this hoping to get my files back ( i do have them backed up offline ), but, if this wasn't a one time anomaly, well, even if it was, it's a pretty big deal - and i figured i should raise it up to the powers that be. i'd also like it to not happen the next time i install onedrive. :-)

[switch7derek]

sorry, i suppose relevant would be that i installed from the instructions:

Install via the Ubuntu PPA Archive:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yann1ck/onedrive
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install onedrive

[abraunegg]

@switch7derek

i have no idea why this happened

This error occurred because you used the Ubuntu PPA package and were hit by #1274 - because the PPA automatically starts the client - which it is not supposed to do - so the moment you authenticated the client, it started syncing using the default configuration. When you then updated your configuration, the client thought your files were gone thus delete.

i am not raising this hoping to get my files back ( i do have them backed up offline )

If you look on OneDrive online, your files should be in the recycle bin there to restore. Before doing this, ensure you remove the Ubuntu PPA autostart systemd file - see #1274 on how to do this

i'd also like it to not happen the next time

Make sure you always test your configuration with --dry-run before activating any systemd service .. yes in this case you had no idea probably that it was already running - but this is why #1274 exists to let folk know this is an issue - but, as I do not do the packaging of the applications, cannot I fix that.

Additionally, as you are mounting to a different folder, incorrect permissions can also cause this issue. What you can also do is use a .nosync file in the mount point, update your configuration so that if the mount is never there, the sync aborts much earlier:

--check-for-nomount
      Check for the presence of .nosync in the syncdir root. If found, do not perform sync.

Things for you do do:

1. Upgrade your client - v2.4.10 from the Ubuntu PPA is not supported. There are 16+ issues that have been fixed since that release.
2. Remove the Ubuntu PPA package autostart configuration as per Ubuntu PPA | Ubuntu | Debian Packages: onedrive --monitor runs automatically on startup after install #1274
3. Implement .nosync for the mount point and implement mount point check
4. Test with --dry-run before activating any systemd service

[switch7derek]

ah, i see. thanks so much for the explanations. will take note and follow your recommendations.
cheers!