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Forum Discussion
"Dropbox needs to change permissions" message on startup
Lately, every time I start my Mac (OS 10.14.6) I get a message that reads (in full):
"Dropbox needs to change permissions for the Folder: /Users/[name]/Dropbox
Enter your password to allow this"...
Hi Rachel R.2,
Can you try following commands in terminal:
sudo chflags -R noschg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chflags -R nouchg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" chmod -R u+rw "/Users/$USER/Dropbox"
Will be asked for your password (sudo).
Hope this helps. :wink:
I would be happy to if you would tell me how to do that!
Hi Rachel R.2,
Can you try following commands in terminal:
sudo chflags -R noschg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chflags -R nouchg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" chmod -R u+rw "/Users/$USER/Dropbox"
Will be asked for your password (sudo).
Hope this helps. :wink:
All at once or one at a time?
Line by line. Every line is one command.
Done--and thank you! I restarted, and it didn't ask for my password, so hopefully the problem is now solved.
I'm having this issue and have tried the offered solutions with no success.
For months, each time I launched Path Finder the first time after a reboot, I'd get the Dropbox "permissions" message once, sometimes twice (immediately after supplying my Mac password for the first message).
I'm on Catalina.
This seems to have fixed it for me.
Thank you!
- Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, frederick L.1 - glad to hear that you were able to resolve your concern.
JosefC, could you let me know if you've checked for any computer updates that you have pending?
Could you also confirm if you're running the latest stable version of the desktop app (101.4.434)?
Keep us posted!
Hi,
Confirmed - running latest stable DB and have no updates pending.
The situation is ongoing.
I am loathe to do a full removal and re-installation, mostly because I'm uncertain about the consequences on my files/links.
Ignorant me, is $USER a "wildcard" or I need to type my user, with or without $ in front?
As it is, copy pasted line by line, did not work.....
Hi FreddoArgento,
First when you comment something, clarify what exactly you have been comenthing, so to be more clear what you are talking about. Doesn't matter where you touch "Reply", your text will go at the end every time!
FreddoArgento wrote:... is $USER a "wildcard" or I need to type my user, ...
When you type a $ symbol on a command line the name, sticked next to this symbol, represent particular shell environment variable. This is NOT wildcard! There is a set of environment variables preset by the system which could be used in user commands or shell scripts, when convenient. You can see available preset variables using the "env" command, all together. 😉
The variable with name USER keeps inside the login name of your account. You can see what's inside using following:
echo $USER
The $ symbol is a special sign, for most environment shells, making a referral to the particular variable (i.e. $USER will get replaced with your login name). You can use your login name directly, of course. Here $USER is used as a convenience - different users have different login names - $USER always refers to them correctly ( if not explicitly changed! ). That's it.
Hope this clarifies matter.
If something goes wrong, despite of above, post in you next reply what you have typed on the command line and the corresponding result all together.
Good luck.
Hi,
I have recently turned on Dropbox Backup (for home and desktop folders) and am now getting the permissions request message "Dropbox needs to change permiossions for the Folder: /Users/drmarkcarter/Dropbox" (twice) after each restart. I tried the following terminal commands:
sudo chflags -R noschg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chflags -R nouchg "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" sudo chown -R "$USER" "/Users/$USER/Dropbox" chmod -R u+rw "/Users/$USER/Dropbox"
The first two commands run fine but for the third and fourth I receive the following error messages:
chown: /Users/drmarkcart/Dropbox/My Mac (Mark-Carters-Macbook-Retina-3.local)/Desktop/Incompatible Software/qmasterd: Operation not permitted
chmod: Unable to change file mode on /Users/drmarkcart/Dropbox/My Mac (Mark-Carters-Macbook-Retina-3.local)/Desktop/Incompatible Software/qmasterd: Operation not permitted
Any suggestions?
Hello!
I'm having the exactly same issue as Rachel!
I've typed these 4 commands on terminal but still didn't solved the problem. Any other possible solution?
Every single time when mac starts, the same window pops up! 😞
Hi saviomilbratz ,
Not to repeat something already said, take a look on here. Can you post the actual error log?
Thanks.
I am using an external drive as my Dropbox drive.
What would the path be?
The drive is called DBEXT
Also:
The error message I get says .... /.dropbox
There is a period before dropbox
When I do this, I get a couple of directories I cannot change, presumably because that was the intent of the owner.
chown: /Users/[user]/Dropbox/Share/[some-dir]/[some-file].xlsx: Operation not permitted
jorn wrote:..., presumably because that was the intent of the owner. ...
😃 Yes, when particular content is shared by somebody (from other account), it could get limited rights to edit by the sharer; but once some files get in your device who is the content owner (from local system point of view, not from Dropbox service)? 🤔 😁 Definitely, not the owner (according Dropbox) is owning YOUR files locally (by assumption there isn't some distant direct connection, making the distant user a local too). 😉 Don't mix 2 different things!
It's always better be known actual command producing a cited output. There can be some error! If you afraid for privacy, the path can be mangled too (within the post), but the command structure should be left unchanged. You can check who is the "owner" by following command (mangled according your scheme):
ls -l ~/Dropbox/Share/[some-dir]/[some-file].xlsx; id
Result will show you (and to us too, if your share it on a post) who is the owner and if that owner is yourself (eventual matching the results). Permissions, currently set, would be seen too. 😉
Hope this gives a direction.
I'm getting
-rw-------@ 1 jornroot stafffor that file. But, interestingly enough, I have that for (all the) other files in that dir. But only that one tosses me the error. 😕
