Summary
On machines where nextsync is the sync client, the official Nextcloud desktop client turns out to be installed and silently running in the background (/usr/bin/nextcloud --background), even though it has no entry in startup applications. It must be fully uninstalled: two sync clients alive at the same time competing over the same folders is a conflict risk and the official one is invisible to the user.
Verified mechanism (Arch / GNOME, nextcloud-client 2:34.0.3-1)
- No XDG autostart entry: neither
~/.config/autostart/ nor /etc/xdg/autostart/ contain a Nextcloud entry, yet the client runs after every session start.
- D-Bus activation file shipped by the package:
/usr/share/dbus-1/services/com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud.service → Exec=/usr/bin/nextcloud --background.
Any message sent to the com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud bus name spawns the client through the systemd user instance (dbus-:1.2-com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud@0.service, parent systemd --user).
- Who pulls the trigger: the package also ships the Nautilus integration
/usr/share/nautilus-python/extensions/syncstate-Nextcloud.py. When Files (Nautilus) opens, the extension queries the client bus name to draw sync-state emblems → D-Bus activation → client starts. Observed in the user journal: Nautilus and the client activation unit started in the same second, a few minutes after boot, with no user interaction with the client itself.
- Result: a second sync client running in the background, not listed in startup apps, duplicating tray presence and sync work.
Action
Completely remove the official client on machines where nextsync is the sync client:
pkill -x nextcloud
sudo pacman -Rns nextcloud-client
Removing the package also removes the D-Bus activation file and the Nautilus extension, eliminating the hidden auto-start path.
Optional follow-up on the nextsync side
nextsync could detect that the official client is installed or running (presence of /usr/bin/nextcloud, or the com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud bus name being owned on the session bus) and surface a warning in Settings, since double-syncing the same folders risks conflicts and duplicated bandwidth.
Summary
On machines where nextsync is the sync client, the official Nextcloud desktop client turns out to be installed and silently running in the background (
/usr/bin/nextcloud --background), even though it has no entry in startup applications. It must be fully uninstalled: two sync clients alive at the same time competing over the same folders is a conflict risk and the official one is invisible to the user.Verified mechanism (Arch / GNOME, nextcloud-client 2:34.0.3-1)
~/.config/autostart/nor/etc/xdg/autostart/contain a Nextcloud entry, yet the client runs after every session start./usr/share/dbus-1/services/com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud.service→Exec=/usr/bin/nextcloud --background.Any message sent to the
com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloudbus name spawns the client through the systemd user instance (dbus-:1.2-com.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloud@0.service, parentsystemd --user)./usr/share/nautilus-python/extensions/syncstate-Nextcloud.py. When Files (Nautilus) opens, the extension queries the client bus name to draw sync-state emblems → D-Bus activation → client starts. Observed in the user journal: Nautilus and the client activation unit started in the same second, a few minutes after boot, with no user interaction with the client itself.Action
Completely remove the official client on machines where nextsync is the sync client:
Removing the package also removes the D-Bus activation file and the Nautilus extension, eliminating the hidden auto-start path.
Optional follow-up on the nextsync side
nextsync could detect that the official client is installed or running (presence of
/usr/bin/nextcloud, or thecom.nextcloudgmbh.Nextcloudbus name being owned on the session bus) and surface a warning in Settings, since double-syncing the same folders risks conflicts and duplicated bandwidth.