Conflicts: two versions, nothing lost

A conflict happens when the same file was changed on both sides since the last sync, with different contents: on the computer and, for instance, from the phone or the browser. HtkCloudSync does not choose for you: by default, it keeps both versions.

What is a conflict?

Three situations produce a conflict:

• a file changed on both sides, with different contents;
• a file created on both sides at the same path, with different contents;
• a file on one side and a folder on the other, under the same name.

Two identical versions make no conflict: if you saved the same content on both sides, the app recognises it and transfers nothing. A file whose date alone changed triggers nothing either.

What happens by default

With the “Keep both versions” setting, the service proceeds as follows:

1. The computer's version is renamed in the same folder, with the machine's name and the time: Wine labels 2026.svg becomes Wine labels 2026 (conflict htkapp-demo 2026-10-12 22-20).svg.
2. The cloud's version is downloaded in place of the original file.
3. At the next cycle, the conflict copy, new on the computer, is sent to the cloud.

All your machines therefore end up with both versions, under two names. Two conflicts within the same minute on the same file are numbered; a conflict copy never overwrites another.

A change made between the analysis and the replacement is protected the same way: if you save a file at the very moment the service is about to replace it, your version goes to a conflict copy rather than being lost. A file changed while it is being uploaded is simply sent again at the next cycle.

Where to see it

• On the “Activity” page, “Conflicts” filter: a line with a warning triangle, whose detail names the kept copy.
• On the “Accounts” page, “Status” line: a badge, for instance “1 conflict”, counts the conflicts still open. Clicking the line opens the “Activity” page, “Conflicts” filter, on the oldest of them.
• Through a “Conflict: both versions kept” notification, with the file name and the account, if notifications are on.

What to do next

Open both files, compare, carry over what is missing into the one you keep, then delete the other. The deletion goes through the trash, on both sides: nothing is lost if you make a mistake.

As soon as the conflict copy no longer exists, because you deleted or renamed it, HtkCloudSync considers the conflict settled: it leaves the badge of the “Accounts” page. If the local folder is missing for a moment, an unplugged disk for instance, nothing is considered settled.

Changing the rule

In “Settings”, “Synchronization” group, the “When a file changed on both sides” line offers three rules:

The last two rules keep a single version: reserve them for situations where you know in advance which side is right. The setting applies to all accounts, from the next cycle.

What is not a conflict

• A file deleted on one side and changed on the other is not deleted: it is restored. Likewise, a folder deleted on the computer but which received new files in the cloud is recreated.
• A file moved on both sides to two different places follows the cloud's location, identical on all your machines.
• A Google document edited in the browser never makes a conflict: its link file is simply rewritten, and a local change to the link file is ignored (see Google documents).

Important: the name of a conflict copy contains the name of your computer, which tells where it comes from when several machines sync the same account. The word conflict follows the language of the app when the copy is made: a copy made while the app was in French says conflit.