IpcRenderer.tsx:50 Error: bookmarkDataIsStale - try recreating the bookmark

[ksdavidc]

Bug Report

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App Version: 2.0.14

Platform: macOS Sonoma 14.6.1

Installation Method: App Store / Direct Download / Other

Expected Behavior:
my todo.txt file is a file that is being synced by Syncthing to other devices.
If the file changes locally due to a local (this computer) edit, the edit is reflected in Sleek and externally almost instantaneously.
If the local file changes due to a sync from a change on an external device, the change should also get reflected in Sleek.

Actual Behavior:
The change does not happen in Sleek and I get an error. The change does happen externally.

From the console:

IpcRenderer.tsx:50 Error: bookmarkDataIsStale - try recreating the bookmark
h @ IpcRenderer.tsx:50
o @ VM5:2
emit @ VM4 sandbox_bundle:2
onMessage @ VM4 sandbox_bundle:2

and i have to remove and reopen the file to get it right.

each time I switch to a different todo tab and back to that tab, a new error msg appears.
closing and reopening does not work.

Steps to Reproduce:
see part 1.

Screenshots:

[ksdavidc]

This may be relevant? Or not. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23954662/what-is-the-correct-way-to-handle-stale-nsurl-bookmarks

[msdisme]

Any workaround for this?

[ransome1]

@msdisme you could install it via brew. The app will still be signed and auto updated, but won't have the stale bookmark issue.

[ransome1]

@msdisme @msdisme I've continued investigating this, and I'm afraid I don’t have good news—at least for the Mac App Store version of Sleek in combination with Syncthing (or likely any other sync app that modifies the file).

If the Mac App Store build of Sleek needs to work with a file on your computer, you must select it within Sleek. Doing so creates what’s called a Security Scoped Bookmark, which is essentially a hash that Sleek saves in your config file. Then, every time Sleek wants to read from or write to this file, it needs to prove it has the necessary permissions. Since Sleek knows the bookmark, it can verify that it has access.

As far as I can tell, this process works reliably with files that are not altered by external sources. However, when Syncthing changes the file, the bookmark no longer matches the file. macOS will then refuse to allow Sleek access to the file, as it expects a different bookmark hash, which Sleek no longer has. To regain access, Sleek needs to recreate the bookmark. The only way to do this is by reopening the file via the file chooser.

I was able to reproduce this issue with Syncthing, and as far as I understand, there’s nothing we can do on our end to resolve it. The only workaround is to install Sleek from outside the Mac App Store, which is fine because the releases on GitHub (or via Homebrew) are signed and notarized by Apple.