(macOS) iCloud save location regularly reset, now impossible to change

[thegcat]

I tried using Userscripts with an iCloud Drive custom Save Location. I used the com~apple~CloudDocs/UserScripts folder. This works well on iOS, unfortunately there are problems on macOS.

On macOS the extension regularly changed the Save Location back to the default folder. I also tried using the TestFlight version (currently 5.0.0 (108) installed) but the Save Location was also reverted to the default there.

Now I also have the problem that the Save Location is stuck on the default folder. Trying to change the Save Location in the macOS app or in the Safari extension does not work (I tried with Safari open and the app closed, app open and Safari closed, both open, nothing works).

Is this a supported setup? Is there anything I can do to help debug this? Or should I just host my scripts in a git repo and use the built-in update function and not use iCloud anymore?

[ACTCD]

This is very strange. First time I've seen feedback like this.

The two possibilities I can think of immediately are:

• The application's preferences (plist) are corrupted
• Your iCloud folder has been recreated
  • If you delete and re-create the folder in the same non-default path, the App will not be able to read or write the new folder (even same path).

Trying to change the Save Location in the macOS app or in the Safari extension does not work

What is the specific performance? Could you screenrecord your operation?

Is this a supported setup? Is there anything I can do to help debug this?

Of course, it's supported. You can get some logs via:

• Enable Native Logger in the app menu
• Start recording in the system Console.app, please refer to FAQ and How to Review Error Logs 常见问题和如何查看错误日志 #409
• When you change save location, you should see related logs

[ACTCD]

Just to make sure, are you running macOS 15?

I discovered that there are several issues that can be caused by changes related to sandbox permissions in macOS 15.

Have you denied or allowed any system authorization pop-ups regarding the App?

[thegcat]

Just to make sure, are you running macOS 15?

I discovered that there are several issues that can be caused by changes related to sandbox permissions in macOS 15.

Yes, I use macOS Sequoia 15.0, I think this happened before the update already though.

Have you denied or allowed any system authorization pop-ups regarding the App?

Not that I know of, where would I need to check?

[thegcat]

This is very strange. First time I've seen feedback like this.

The two possibilities I can think of immediately are:

• The application's preferences (plist) are corrupted

• Your iCloud folder has been recreated

  • If you delete and re-create the folder in the same non-default path, the App will not be able to read or write the new folder (even same path).

The scripts are in an iCloud folder that is marked as "keep contents downloaded". I have no idea what iCloud does with the folder in the background.

Trying to change the Save Location in the macOS app or in the Safari extension does not work

What is the specific performance? Could you screenrecord your operation?

This did work now, so I can't currently reproduce this.

Is this a supported setup? Is there anything I can do to help debug this?

Of course, it's supported. You can get some logs via:

I was under the impression iCloud did things that made using it as Storage for Userscripts difficult :-)

[ACTCD]

Not that I know of, where would I need to check?

Some authorization pop-ups are temporary or one-time, so you can't check them.

The scripts are in an iCloud folder that is marked as "keep contents downloaded". I have no idea what iCloud does with the folder in the background.
I was under the impression iCloud did things that made using it as Storage for Userscripts difficult :-)

As for the "keep downloaded" folder, in theory it shouldn't have too many surprises, but who knows?

Like I said in the issue below, since I don't use iCloud Drive myself, debugging related issues is difficult for me.

• Better iCloud sync integration #424

And it’s definitely not a priority for me right now.

I believe this issue may occur in macOS 15 or earlier, for example if an "eviction" occurs there.

I also believe that the new "keep downloaded" features of macOS 15 / iOS 18 will play some role.

---

But if you can reproduce the "cannot change save location" issue, I will check and try to solve it.

But are you sure this issue ever happened in macOS 14 or earlier?

[Morac2]

I'm seeing the same problem after upgrading to MacOS 15.0. I keep the user script folder in iCloud and periodically UserScripts changes it back to the default Container folder. I am able to change it back to the iCloud Folder, so I can fix this, but it does get annoying.

This was never an issue on prior versions of MacOS.

I have seen the same thing happen with my iPhone and iPad on iOS 18. I have the scripts folder set to keep downloaded.

Of note, there is no issue with the actual files syncing in iCloud, it's just that the UserScript extension periodically changes the user set folder back to the default folder.

[ACTCD]

@Morac2

Yes, I use macOS Sequoia 15.0, I think this happened before the update already though.

I'm seeing the same problem after upgrading to MacOS 15.0.

This was never an issue on prior versions of MacOS.

I'm sorry, but the issues you are experiencing appear to be inconsistent.

Let’s not lump all the issues and options together.

@thegcat raise two main issues here:

• iCloud save location regularly reset (issue 1)
• save location impossible to change (issue 2)

"keep downloaded" is a new feature in macOS 15 / iOS 18 and I think it should help alleviate "issue 1" if iCloud is indeed deleted and re-created the folder behind the scenes (e.g. eviction due to space optimization).

So did you encounter "issue 1" when "keep downloaded" option was enabled or when it was disabled?

---

It should be noted that, my previous comment about macOS 15 was only about "issue 2" and I had wondered if "issue 2" only happened in macOS 15. But now that I have investigated clearly, that has nothing to do with the problem I found.

---

So, for "issue 1", we create a "bookmark" for the folder you selected (outside of the app sandbox) to maintain access to the folder, but if the "bookmark" becomes invalid (e.g. the folder was deleted and then re-created), we lose access to the folder (without the bookmark, the app cannot access folders outside the sandbox), so you may see it revert to the default path.

For "issue 1", I don't have much help at the moment since I can't debug iCloud.

For "issue 2", if you could reproduce it stably and provide some necessary information or logs, I will try to solve it.

I hope this time I have made things clear.

[Morac2]

I have the issue where the User Script save location keeps changing from the custom I set to to back to the default location. This started with MacOS 15.

I set it to /Users/username/Documents/UserScripts/ and it gets changed back to /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.userscripts.macos.Userscripts-Extension/Data/Documents/scripts every now and then (usually after restarting my Mac).

I'm not sure if that is what you are calling the "iCloud Save location" issue, though I do have the Documents folder syncing to iCloud.

Of note, I checked and User Scripts does not have permission to access the Documents folder, but I was never prompted to allow access and it seems to work without needing that. Maybe Safari extensions don't need that, but any other app that tries to access Documents requires me giving permission.

I don't have "issue 2".

[ACTCD]

@Morac2 The macOS stuff is just confusing, isn’t it?

Compared to its advertised safety, it just makes it impossible for people to know what it is doing behind the scenes.

The first thing to be clear about is that if you don't authorize an app to access your "documents" folder, they really can't.

And Userscripts never requested permission to access the "Documents" folder, so you won't find it in the list.

But why does it have access to the folder you selected in "Documents" folder? Because you "selected" it.

This is another authorization mechanism in macOS, which means that the App can access the files or folders you provide or selected through the system "open and save panels". If you want to know the details, here is the official documentation.

I'm not sure if that is what you are calling the "iCloud Save location" issue, though I do have the Documents folder syncing to iCloud.

I don't know what it does to your folder when you turn on iCloud sync for the "Documents" folder, since I don't use iCloud. But if the same thing doesn't happen when you select a non-iCloud synced folder, you know what's probably going on.

As I explained above, The app uses the "bookmark" to access folder of your selected, and if that "bookmark" becomes invalid, the "restore to default path" situation what you describe may occur.

If you want to see what's going on behind the scenes, such as whether the bookmark has invalid and what the app has tried, please refer to the method I provided above for viewing system and app logs.

Since the app and extension do not collect any usage data, without any logs or details or reproducible actions, we cannot provide any further help.

[thegcat]

Both problems are probably not related, I would open a new issue for the iCloud-related issue regarding iCloud on macOS 15?

Regarding the issue of not being able to change the "Save Location" on macOS, I have captured console logs of the activity when it doesn't work:

log

standard	15:26:09.312664+0200	Userscripts	[0x13ea28530] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=false name=(anonymous)
standard	15:26:09.313527+0200	Userscripts	[0x60000008c000] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService
standard	15:26:09.313815+0200	Userscripts	[0x60000008c000] invalidated after the last release of the connection object
standard	15:26:09.313903+0200	Userscripts	[0x13ec3e350] activating connection: mach=false listener=false peer=false name=(anonymous)
standard	15:26:09.572413+0200	Userscripts	Advance to run phase.
standard	15:26:09.655674+0200	Userscripts	order window front conditionally: 861 related: 0
standard	15:26:09.655863+0200	Userscripts	parent NSWindow 0x13ed0a2b0 (861) remove NSOpenPanel 0x13ea194e0 (88f) from group
standard	15:26:09.655951+0200	Userscripts	parent NSWindow 0x13ed0a2b0 (861) add NSOpenPanel 0x13ea194e0 (88f) to group
standard	15:26:09.657180+0200	Userscripts	order window: 88f op: 1 relative: 861 related: 0
standard	15:26:09.919214+0200	Userscripts	parent NSWindow 0x13ed0a2b0 (861) remove NSOpenPanel 0x13ea194e0 (88f) from group
standard	15:26:09.919326+0200	Userscripts	parent NSWindow 0x13ed0a2b0 (861) add NSOpenPanel 0x13ea194e0 (88f) to group
standard	15:26:09.919469+0200	Userscripts	order window: 88f op: 1 relative: 861 related: 0
standard	15:26:16.785773+0200	Userscripts	[0x60000009a670] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.scopedbookmarksagent.xpc
standard	15:26:16.793132+0200	Userscripts	[0x60000009a670] invalidated after the last release of the connection object
fehler	15:26:16.793224+0200	Userscripts	createBookmark(_:_:) - The file couldn’t be opened.
standard	15:26:16.796153+0200	Userscripts	order window front conditionally: 861 related: 0
standard	15:26:17.057543+0200	Userscripts	parent NSWindow 0x13ed0a2b0 (861) remove NSOpenPanel 0x13ea194e0 (88f) from group
standard	15:26:17.058490+0200	Userscripts	order window: 88f op: 0 relative: 0 related: 0
standard	15:26:17.060962+0200	Userscripts	[0x13ea28530] invalidated because the current process cancelled the connection by calling xpc_connection_cancel()
standard	15:26:17.060976+0200	Userscripts	[0x13ec3e350] invalidated because the current process cancelled the connection by calling xpc_connection_cancel()

"fehler" means error.

[thegcat]

As an additional data point: This happens even for folders that are in my home directory and that are not the Documents folder for example.

[ACTCD]

@thegcat

I would open a new issue for the iCloud-related issue regarding iCloud on macOS 15?

So, could you clarify, which issue only occurs in macOS 15, and which one also occurs in macOS 14 ?

I would rather you create a separate issue for "save location impossible to change (issue 2)".

Because the discussion and description in this issue are more about "issue 1".

I have captured console logs of the activity when it doesn't work

The log has almost no context. I can guess where the error print, but it's not much help.

It just calls the system API to create a "bookmark", like I said above.

userscripts/xcode/Shared/Preferences.swift

Lines 101 to 112 in 55f0f1b

	private func createBookmark(_ url: URL, _ withSecurityScope: Bool) -> Data? {
	do {
	return try url.bookmarkData(
	options: withSecurityScope ? .withSecurityScope : [],
	includingResourceValuesForKeys: nil,
	relativeTo: nil
	)
	} catch {
	logger?.error("\(#function, privacy: .public) - \(error.localizedDescription, privacy: .public)")
	}
	return nil
	}

But we still don’t know why it throws "The file couldn’t be opened.", we can't even know in which process it happened.

The func is called in multiple processes, it might be more helpful if you could get a more complete logs.

For example, under normal circumstances you may find the following logs:

updateBookmark() - setterId not exist: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData
wrappedValue - try get bookmark: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData
wrappedValue - bookmark not exist: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData
wrappedValue - try set bookmark: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData file:///Users/username/folder1/
wrappedValue - try get bookmark: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData

This happens even for folders that are in my home directory and that are not the Documents folder for example.

If that's a local folder (no iCloud involved), I don't think there's any difference in "Documents" or other locations, at this point.

[ACTCD]

Regarding "issue 1", I now have some new information, but I would still like to get your reproduction and error message logs to confirm this.

I think one possibility is that we couldn't access the folder while iCloud was syncing it, so the "bookmark" couldn't resolve at that point, and we then deemed the "bookmark" invalid and deleted it.

You should be able to find the following logs:

error	Userscripts-Mac-Safari-Extension	resolvBookmark(_:_:_:) - ???
info	Userscripts-Mac-Safari-Extension	removeBookmark() - remove invalid bookmark: ScriptsDirectoryUrlBookmarkData

But I need error messages marked with question marks to confirm the conjecture and identify specific errors.

This "error" should be found in the historical system logs, which means there is no need for instant monitoring and reproduction.

So please run the command below in Terminal.app and send the generated userscripts-log.txt file here.

log show --start 2024-09-01 --predicate 'process="Userscripts-Mac-Safari-Extension" && category="Userscripts_Mac_Safari_Extension/Preferences.swift"' --info --debug > userscripts-log.txt

If the issue is as I guessed, then we need some asynchronous detection like @2xsaiko tried using NSFileCoordinator in #629, and design a new synchronization mechanism to completely solve the issues.

[thegcat]

I have attached the log, but it seems there's not much history to go by. I'll try to provide one when Userscripts forgets the folder again.

userscripts-log.txt