How do I change what files Ubuntu One syncs vs ignores?

Question

I noticed yesterday that Ubuntu One is not syncing some of my bip logs, but is syncing others. It appears that Ubuntu One is ignoring certain files because they start with a # sign.

How can I modify what files Ubuntu One sync vs ignores?

Answer 1

The default ignored is defined in /etc/xdg/ubuntuone/syncdaemon.conf:

ignore.default = \A#.*\Z                                                        
                 \A.*~\Z                                                        
                 \A.*\.py[oc]\Z                                                 
                 \A.*\.sw[nopx]\Z                                               
                 \A.*\.swpx\Z                                                   
                 \A\..*\.tmp\Z                                                  
                 \A\.~lock\..*#\Z

If you want to change it, edit or create the file ~/.config/ubuntuone/syncdaemon.conf to define your own ignore list. In the case you just want to allow the synchronization of files and folders starting with a #, copy the default list but remove the first regular expression:

[__main__]
ignore = \A.*~\Z
         \A.*\.py[oc]\Z
         \A.*\.sw[nopx]\Z
         \A.*\.swpx\Z
         \A\..*\.tmp\Z

Then, restart syncdaemon with:

u1sdtool -q; u1sdtool -c

Answer 2

After talking to some people on IRC, I found a solution to this problem.

UbuntuOne ignores certain files based on patterns stored in /etc/xdg/ubuntuone/syncdaemon.conf.

Look at the section called ignore.default. The patterns here are Python, not bash regex expressions, so if you're not familiar with them, you should be careful modifying them. I'd recommend backing up this file first. You need to use sudo to edit this file.

I used this tool, the Python Regex Tool to test my changes. In my case, I removed the first expression \A#.*\Z and my files with names that started with # were synced.

After modifying the file, I disconnected, quit, started, and reconnected the syncdaemon as follows:

u1sdtool -d
u1sdtool -q
u1sdtool --start
u1sdtool -c