I use Dropbox backup and my desktop files are on the computer but I can't find the actual folders

[ReneKrewinkel]

I have this weird situation where I have my MacBook pro connected to dropbox and I'm syncing my Documents en Desktop. 

And all of a sudden all files from my Desktop disappeared. If I open a terminal however, all my files are still there. If I use the "open" command I can open the folder and I can see my files, but all directories are greyed out. Rebooting doesn't do the trick. 

(2TB account)

[Hannah]

Hey @ReneKrewinkel, welcome to our Community!

You mentioned that this happened suddenly; where were the desktop folders located before this happened?

Also, what is your OS version and your Dropbox version and sync status of the app?

You can see the latter by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.

Let me know and we'll go from there.

[ReneKrewinkel]

---

@Hannah wrote:

Hey @ReneKrewinkel, welcome to our Community!

You mentioned that this happened suddenly; where were the desktop folders located before this happened?

Also, what is your OS version and your Dropbox version and sync status of the app?

You can see the latter by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.

Let me know and we'll go from there.

---

Hi Hannah, 

The files were (well, still are)  in directories on my Desktop.

The Dropbox location is: Dropbox/Mac (2)/Desktop mapped to $HOME/Desktop (see screenshots). The files are still there but don't appear in the finder or on the Desktop.

[ReneKrewinkel]

MacOS version: Sonoma 14.6.1

Dropbox version:  206.4.6506

[Hannah]

Hey Rene, thanks for the additional info.

It appears that the screenshots are corrupted; can you please attach them in your next reply, using the camera button above the reply box?

[ReneKrewinkel]

Hi, these are the actual screenshots. It's just a list of the files as they appear in my terminal

[Hannah]

No worries, Rene.

Just to clarify, if you open 'Dropbox/Mac (2)/Desktop in Finder', do you not see any files?

Do they appear as normal in your backups page online?

[ReneKrewinkel]

Hi Hannah,

No and yes, and the files are just there, but not visible in Finder, very strange

[ReneKrewinkel]

Hi Hannah,

My files just as magically re-appeared as they disappeared, seems like there is a little magic going on in dropbox. 

[Hannah]

Oh, I'm glad to hear that, Rene!

Not sure what this temporary issue was, but I'm happy to see that everything's now back to normal.

If the issue does return, make sure to let us know and we'll dig deeper.

Have a great day!