SeaFile 13.0.25 Files getting randomly deleted

Seafile Server
1

SeaFile 13.0.25

Random deletion of files by SeaDrive users

I have more than 100 SeaFile users, over 1 TB of data, and a large number of files.

For a long time, we have been experiencing an issue where files are randomly deleted from libraries by users using the SeaDrive client.

According to the library activity logs, a file is uploaded by one user and then, just a few seconds later, deleted by another user. The deleted file is moved to the recycle bin.

The strange part is that there is no indication in the affected user’s logs that they deleted the file. In other words, SeaFile reports that the file was deleted by the user, but the user does not appear to have performed any deletion action.

Here are two recent examples.

Example 1

The file XXX XXX.pdf was uploaded by User4 and deleted by User1 just 3 seconds later:

2026-09-04 16:50:36
Added or modified "XXX XXX.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User4 API

2026-09-04 16:50:39
Deleted "XXX XXX.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User1 API

2026-09-04 17:14:27
Added or modified "XXX XXX.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User4 API

Details of User1:

XXX XXX.pdf
User1
Windows
SeaDrive 3.0.19

User1 was running an outdated version of SeaDrive.

Example 2

The file YYY YYY.pdf was uploaded by User3 and deleted by User2 just 4 seconds later:

2026-09-04 16:06:53
Added or modified "YYY YYY.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User3 API

2026-09-04 16:06:57
Deleted "YYY YYY.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User2 API

2026-09-04 17:15:15
Added or modified "YYY YYY.pdf"
Details: 2026-09-04 User4 API

Details of User2:

YYY YYY.pdf
User2
macOS
SeaDrive 3.0.24

Unlike User1, User2 was running the latest SeaDrive version.

My questions

Could this be a known SeaDrive issue?

In particular, could SeaDrive incorrectly synchronize a deletion from a local filesystem or generate a delete request to the server even though the user did not explicitly delete the file?

The fact that the same behavior occurs with both an outdated SeaDrive version (3.0.19) and the current version (3.0.24) makes me suspect that the problem may not be limited to a specific client version.

What logs or debugging information should I collect to determine what actually triggered the DELETE API request?

I would especially like to understand:

  1. What exactly caused SeaDrive to send the deletion request.
  2. Whether the deletion was initiated by SeaDrive itself or by another process on the user’s computer.
  3. Whether there are any known race conditions when multiple users access or modify the same library/files.
  4. Which SeaDrive/server logs can be used to trace the original source of the deletion.
  5. Whether there is a recommended way to prevent or protect against such accidental deletions while the root cause is being investigated.

This is a serious issue for us because we have more than 100 users and over 1 TB of data, and the random deletions have been occurring for a long time.

2

Hello @mr.evg4 ,

In SeaDrive, there are generally two cases where a local file may be deleted. One is when the corresponding file is deleted on the server and the deletion is then synchronized to the local machine. The other is when the file is actually deleted locally.

In the issue you described, since you only modified the file, it should not be the first case.

For the second case, besides being manually deleted by the user, the file may also be automatically deleted by third-party software, such as security or antivirus software. Therefore, to further investigate this issue, please provide the client logs from both when the file was updated and when it was deleted (seadrive.log and events.log).

You can send the logs to support@seafile.com. Please also provide as much relevant information as possible, such as the exact name of the file that was deleted.

You can also check whether any third-party software on the local machine is scanning and deleting these files.