Folder synchronization

In Settings → Synchronization, follow your organization’s Shared folders. Only the folders you select will synchronize on this computer.

You can share a folder containing more than 50,000 files and subfolders without splitting it to meet an item-count limit. Your organization’s storage quota still applies.

In Settings → Synchronization, select Share folder….
In the system picker, choose the parent folder containing the files and subfolders you want to share.
Wait for Analyzing folder…. While the analysis runs, Studio shows how many files it has analyzed and the size found. Wait for it to finish before sharing another folder.
In the summary, check Folder, Size, Files, Upload (how many files will be uploaded), Excluded files (when there are any), and Access.
Select Start sharing to confirm the upload to your organization’s storage. The button shows Starting sharing… while the upload begins.

Selecting the folder and reviewing the analysis does not upload your files. Uploading starts after confirmation. If the files change after the analysis, sharing does not start: use Choose folder again… to review the updated summary. Only you have access initially; use Manage access to invite collaborators through SquadOS Web.

Folders containing many files may take longer to analyze and synchronize.

Synchronization exclusions still apply: dependency folders such as node_modules and Python environment package folders (site-packages and dist-packages), version-control folders such as .git, and credential files such as .env and .key are not uploaded. Symbolic links are not followed either. Sharing the entire folder includes its eligible content and subfolders while respecting these exclusions.

Understand subfolder access

By default, subfolders use the parent folder’s access. This inheritance follows future changes to people and permissions on the parent folder, without configuring each subfolder separately.

You can customize subfolders directly inside the shared folder. Everything inside each one, including new folders, follows the same rule. There is no separate editor for deeper levels. Loose files in the parent folder continue to use its access.

For example, when sharing company-os:

Folder	Access rule	Example recipients
`company-os`	Parent folder access	Ana and Marina
`company-os/management`	From the parent folder	Follows Ana and Marina and future changes at the root.
`company-os/sales`	Own access	Can include Ana and João, with permissions chosen for this subfolder.

Own access uses the subfolder’s list instead of the inherited list. Access held by the responsible person and broad organization permissions still applies. A person can also gain access through a department included in this subfolder’s rule, even after their individual grant is removed. Leaving the list without additional recipients does not block the responsible person or holders of those broad permissions.

Customize a subfolder

You need permission to manage the shared folder before you can change its access.

In SquadOS Web, open Shared files and select the parent folder, such as company-os.
On the subfolder’s row, select the From the parent folder or Own access summary to open the access panel.
Choose Customize access.
Review the initial list and use Add people or departments to include recipients. For each one, choose View only or Can edit, or remove their direct grant. Can edit does not, by itself, grant permission to delete files.
Select Save changes.

When you customize access, the list starts with compatible inherited recipients. If the interface warns that teams from a previous configuration were not copied, choose the recipients before saving.

Permissions change only after a successful save. If saving fails, the panel keeps your changes so you can correct them and try again. When leaving with unsaved changes, review the prompt to continue editing or discard them.

To restore inheritance, open the subfolder’s access, select Use access from company-os, and save. Everyone with access to the parent folder can then access this subfolder according to the root permissions, and future changes are followed again.

A person with access only to a subfolder may find the parent folder marked Partial access. This does not grant access to files at the root or to other subfolders.

How the rules affect synchronization

Selecting a folder to synchronize in Studio does not expand your permissions. Studio synchronizes only content your account can access:

View only allows receiving permitted files without uploading changes to those paths.
Can edit allows uploading changes to authorized paths. A subfolder can allow editing while the root allows only viewing, or the other way around.
If you lose access to a subfolder, an up-to-date Studio removes that area’s managed files from the synced copy when it processes the change. Local changes that have not been uploaded are preserved separately for recovery and are not published using the withdrawn permission. Other permitted areas keep synchronizing.

Studio must be up to date, open, and connected to process changes. A version without support for subfolder rules may request an update instead of synchronizing the folder.

Customizing a subfolder does not stop sharing the parent folder or delete external copies or backups. The confirmation for deleting an entire folder’s local copy, described later, is a separate flow.

Folder status

The status appears next to the folder name. Select the name to expand its details and check the location On this computer, the content size, and your access permission.

Status or information	Meaning
Not synchronized	The folder has not been selected on this computer yet. Use Sync on this computer to choose its location.
Syncing	Studio is checking for changes. While it goes through the folder, Checking for folder changes… appears with the number of Items checked.
Sending changes	There are local changes to upload. When the activity has no totals yet, Changes to upload shows the pending count.
Receiving files	Studio is downloading content from the shared folder.
Uploading file or Downloading file	Shows the megabytes transferred and the size of the current file. These values describe that file, rather than the folder’s overall progress.
Synced	The latest folder check succeeded, with no local changes waiting to upload.
Paused	Synchronization is paused for this folder or for all folders.
Sharing suspended	Sharing or the organization’s synchronization feature is suspended or unavailable.
Two versions of the same file	Preserved versions or operations need review. Use Review conflicts when the option appears.
Attention required	Synchronization could not be completed or verified, or an access change needs to be processed. This status alone does not mean your access has ended.

Transfer progress updates while the attempt is running. If the attempt fails or is interrupted, its bytes no longer appear as an active transfer.

If Studio cannot read some items in the folder (because of missing permission, a file in use, or a name Windows does not accept), the folder shows Attention required and the Items that could not be checked message lists those paths.

Sync activity

Below the folder name, Studio summarizes what is happening to the files:

At the top, Syncing… with how many files are synced and how many remain, or Up to date with the time of the last sync, such as Synced just now.
A table with the five most recent files, showing Name, File size, and Status. Files that failed or have a conflict appear first.

File status	Meaning
Waiting to sync	The file is in the queue.
Uploading or Downloading	The file is being transferred; the percentage appears below its name.
Synced	The change was accepted in the shared folder or applied on this computer.
Not synced	Syncing this file failed.
Version conflict	There are two versions of the file to review.

When one of your changes is not accepted, Studio warns: Some changes could not be synced. A backup copy was kept on this computer. The warning disappears once a later change to the same file is accepted; the backup copy stays on the computer.

Pausing and disabling on this computer

To pause a folder temporarily, open its … menu and select Pause folder. Use Resume folder to continue. Pause all folders stops synchronization for all of them.

To deselect a folder locally, open … → Disable on this computer and confirm with Disable. Local files and pending changes are preserved. Sharing remains available to other people, and you can select the folder again with Sync on this computer.

Choose the right action

Emptying the trash, removing sharing, and removing a person’s access have different effects.

Action	In the cloud	On computers
Empty trash, in SquadOS Web	Permanently deletes files already in the trash. Active files and sharing remain available.	Does not request deletion of a collaborator’s local copy.
Stop sharing in Studio, or Remove sharing in SquadOS Web	Automatically deletes the shared cloud copy, including its trash.	Disconnects every Studio and keeps folders and downloaded files.
Remove viewing access in Permissions, in SquadOS Web	The person loses access when no remaining permission allows them to view the folder.	After explicit confirmation, requests deletion of synced files, including changes that have not been uploaded.

Removing sharing does not cancel previously confirmed local deletion requests. Those requests continue running on the corresponding computers.

If you are responsible for the folder or have administrative permission to manage it, you can request removal. You must also have the deletion permissions required by your organization.

In Settings → Synchronization, find the folder under Shared folders.
Open the folder’s … menu.
Select Stop sharing.
Check the folder name and confirm with Stop sharing.

The folder is no longer shared with anyone, and every Studio stops syncing it. This action keeps everyone’s local folders. The cloud copy, including items in its trash, is deleted automatically and cannot be recovered through that trash. Physical deletion and storage release are processed automatically; they do not confirm deletion on computers.

Selecting Cancel or closing the confirmation keeps sharing enabled.

The action is also available when the folder is suspended or has no location on this computer yet, as long as you have permission to manage it. If removal fails, the confirmation shows the error and lets you try again.

Remove access and delete local files

To delete a collaborator’s synced copy, first remove their access in SquadOS Web. Removing only Edit permission while keeping viewing access does not request this deletion.

In SquadOS Web, open Shared files and select Permissions for the folder.
Remove the person’s viewing access and select Save.
If they lose effective access, review the Remove access to [folder name] and delete local files? confirmation. The list shows the affected people and the number of linked computers.
Confirm with Remove access and delete files. Deletion also covers local changes to those files that have not been uploaded and cannot be undone.
Follow Deletion on computers until each Studio confirms completion.

Canceling or closing the confirmation does not save the access removal. If a permission or person changes while you are confirming, review the updated information before trying again.

If the person still has access through a department, the organization, or a broad permission, removing individual access alone does not revoke viewing access or delete their local files. Adjust the access source identified by the interface before considering the person removed from that folder.

Deletion requires Studio to be up to date, open, and connected on each computer. It covers files managed by synchronization, including pending changes. Files that do not belong to synchronization, copies outside the synced folder, and external backups remain outside this deletion.

Check deletion on each computer

People with permission to manage the folder can follow Deletion on computers. Save confirms the request; it does not confirm that files have been deleted. The panel identifies the person and computer and shows the corresponding message:

Situation	Meaning
Waiting for deletion	Deletion is still pending. Studio must be up to date, open, and connected. An offline computer or an older version is not confirmed as cleaned.
Files could not be deleted	The attempt failed. Studio will retry; deletion is not complete yet.
Local deletion completed and confirmed by Studio	Studio finished cleaning up managed files and sent confirmation.

If no computer is linked, deletion of earlier local copies cannot be confirmed. If checking the status fails, try again before considering cleanup complete.

Deletion history remains available in Shared files, even after sharing is removed.

Sequence for offboarding a collaborator

Remove viewing access in Permissions, checking inherited permissions as well.
Confirm deletion of local files, including changes that have not been uploaded.
Wait for the deletion completed message on each of the person’s linked computers.
If the folder no longer needs to be shared with anyone, use Stop sharing in Studio or Remove sharing in SquadOS Web.

Removing sharing before completing this sequence keeps local copies that do not have a confirmed deletion request. Cloud removal alone does not prove that a collaborator’s computer has been cleaned up.