The Nextcloud desktop client acts as a bridge between your laptop and your LocalNode. Understanding how the synchronization engine works will save you massive amounts of hard drive space.
Overview
Once you install the desktop app, a new "Nextcloud" folder appears in your file explorer. Anything you drag into this folder is instantly uploaded to the server. If you delete a file from this folder, it is deleted from the server.
Virtual Files (Saving hard drive space)
If you have 500GB of files stored on your LocalNode, you likely do not want all 500GB downloaded to your laptop's small hard drive. Nextcloud solves this with "Virtual Files" (similar to OneDrive's Files On-Demand).
Open the Nextcloud desktop app settings (click the green icon in your system tray/menu bar, click your profile, select Settings).
Under your account connection, look for the Virtual Files setting.
Ensure "Enable virtual file support" is checked.
How it works:When you open the Nextcloud folder on your PC, you will see all your files, but they will have a small cloud icon next to them. These are "placeholder" files that take up zero space. When you double-click one, Nextcloud instantly downloads it from the LocalNode and opens it.
To keep a file permanently on your laptop (e.g., if you are going on a flight without internet), right-click the file and select "Always keep on this device".
Nextcloud documentation screenshot (nextcloud/documentation, AGPL / CC BY-SA depending on section).
Selective Sync
If you are using Mac or Linux and Virtual Files are behaving oddly, you can use the older, rock-solid "Selective Sync" method.
In the Nextcloud app settings, uncheck the "virtual file support" box.
Click the button that says Choose what to sync.
A tree view of all folders on your server will appear.
Uncheck the massive folders (like "Video Archives" or "Backups"). Check only the folders you need daily access to (like "Current Projects").
Click Apply. Only the checked folders will be downloaded to your laptop.
💡 Tip: You can always view the unchecked folders by logging into the Nextcloud web interface in your browser.
Handling Sync Conflicts
If you edit a Word document on your laptop while offline, and your spouse edits the exact same document on the web interface, Nextcloud won't know which version to keep when your laptop comes back online.
When this happens, Nextcloud will create a "Conflict File". You will see two files in the folder:
Budget.xlsx
Budget (conflicted copy 2026-05-01).xlsx
You must manually open both, combine the changes, save the master file, and delete the conflicted copy to resolve the issue.
