Move from Linux to Mac

#1

I have been successfully using insync for years to provide a backup of my home server files to google drive. Works great!

For reasons irrelevant to my question, I want to move my insync operation from a linux box to an old Mac. I have read the article https://help.insynchq.com/en/articles/3817486-moving-to-a-new-computer-without-re-syncing but the first thing it says is “Machines must have the same OS (Win to Win, Mac to Mac, Linux to Linux)”.

However, looking into the structure of the insync files on linux (in /home/username/.config/Insync/) and on Mac (/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Insync/), there seem to be the same set of files, for example on the current linux box:

drwxrwxr-x  2 user  user      4096 Jan 20  2024 data
drwxrwxr-x  2 user  user      4096 Jan 20  2024 live
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user  25014272 Dec 25 22:31 logs.db
-rw-rw-r--  1 user  user  26214400 Jan 20  2024 out.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user     20480 Jan 20  2024 settings.db
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user   1425552 Dec 25 17:20 settings.db-wal

Starting this post lead the forum to point me to Moving from Windows to Mac that says that the db structure is platform specific so it doesn’t seem like it is an easy switch of the files. However, that thread is 7 years old and perhaps there have been changes in the structure of the db files since then. Also, that thread is talking about moving from Windows to Mac, whereas I am talking about moving from Linux to Mac, which are both Unix-like operation systems (unlike Windows) so perhaps the database structures aren’t so different between these two platforms.

If it is not as easy as just copying over the directories and files, the 2017 post says “However, during setup you may choose the folder that already contains the Google Drive files – Insync would try to match the existing files and would not re-download/re-upload them.” If you could provide some additional detail on this suggestion, that would be great.

#2

I had the thought that if the differences in the default locations for the config files is what makes it difficult to switch platforms, I could set up a symbolic link from /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Insync/ to /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Insync/ to get around that.

But maybe the platform differences go deeper than that.

#3

Hi @32-bit! Thank you for waiting and happy New Year!

Assuming that you have all the files in your local computer, here’s how to setup Insync on your Mac machine:

  1. Follow this setup guide: https://help.insynchq.com/en/articles/2853798-setup-guide-for-google-drive-accounts
  2. On Step 3 of that guide, it shows that you can use the default location that Insync suggests. If you prefer to sync your files to another location, you can create a new, empty folder first. Click Change as shown on the guide, then assign your preferred folder as the sync location (aka Base Folder).
  3. Finish the setup without selecting any files for syncing.
  4. Once setup is done, start moving your files into the Base Folder in batches. Let the sync queue clear up first before proceeding to move the rest of the files. We recommend this step to prevent any bottlenecks during the upload or file-matching process.

Let me know if you have any questions!

#4

Thanks Mia. That setup guide is pretty much what I followed when I set up InSync on a Linux machine. However, I have need to use instead a Mac as the machine that holds my files that I want to sync to my Google Drive.

If I understand your instructions correctly, you are saying I should not do what I was thinking - i.e. copying all my settings, which are currently stored as such:

drwxrwxr-x  2 user  user      4096 Jan 20  2024 data
drwxrwxr-x  2 user  user      4096 Jan 20  2024 live
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user  25014272 Dec 25 22:31 logs.db
-rw-rw-r--  1 user  user  26214400 Jan 20  2024 out.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user     20480 Jan 20  2024 settings.db
-rw-r--r--  1 user  user   1425552 Dec 25 17:20 settings.db-wal

from my Linux box to my Mac. And instead, I should start with a fresh installation on the Mac, but with the folder that I want to sync to Google Drive empty.

Then, I should gradually move the files into that drive and InSync will check to see if they are already uploaded (they are, because I synced them on the Linux box) and then after I gradually move them all over, it will sync (upload) any new files as I add them from time to time.

Is that correct?

Can I be assured that syncing the empty folder won’t cause my files to be deleted on my Google Drive? I am not at my Linux Box right now, but in reviewing your instructions from last year when I set it up (New Server - Need to make sure don't reupload to Google Drive) it looks like I was told to use a 2-way LSS sync, so am always worried that my Google Drive will be synced to an empty folder (i.e. cloud files deleted).