macOS Finder status icons missing when Finder extension starts before Nextcloud app

[engelmm]

⚠️ Before submitting, please verify the following: ⚠️

• This is a bug, not a question or a configuration issue.
• This issue is not already reported on Github (I have searched for it).
• Nextcloud Server and Desktop Client are up to date. See Server Maintenance and Release Schedule and Desktop Releases for supported versions.
• I agree to follow Nextcloud's Code of Conduct

Bug description

On macOS, Nextcloud Finder status icons are missing after restart.

The issue appears to depend on startup order. If the Nextcloud Finder extension / File Provider starts before the Nextcloud app is fully initialized, Finder status icons are missing. If the Nextcloud app is started first and the Finder extension / File Provider is loaded afterward, the icons appear correctly.

Toggling the Finder extension / File Provider off and on after the Nextcloud app is running restores the icons.

Steps to reproduce

1. Restart macOS.
2. Let the Nextcloud Finder extension / File Provider load before the Nextcloud app is fully initialized.
3. Open Finder.
4. Observe that Nextcloud status icons are missing.
5. Confirm that the Nextcloud app is running.
6. Disable and re-enable the Nextcloud Finder extension / File Provider.
7. Observe that Finder status icons appear.

Additional observation:

• App first, then Finder extension / File Provider: icons work.
• Finder extension / File Provider first, then app: icons are missing.

Expected behavior

Finder status icons should be available after login without manually toggling the Finder extension / File Provider.

If the Finder extension / File Provider starts before the Nextcloud app is ready, it should reinitialize or reconnect once the app/backend becomes available.

Which files are affected by this bug

All files in the Nextcloud File Provider folder

Operating system

macOS

Which version of the operating system you are running.

macOS 26.5; issue also occurred on earlier macOS 26.x versions

Installation method

Official Installer for macOS 13 and later

Nextcloud Server version

33.0.3

Nextcloud Desktop Client version

33.0.4

Did this occur after an update or on a clean installation?

Clean desktop client installation

Are you using the Nextcloud Server Encryption module?

No

Are you using an external user-backend?

• Default internal user-backend
• LDAP or Active Directory
• SSO - SAML
• Other

Nextcloud Server logs

Additional info

This appears to be a local macOS Finder/File Provider startup issue, not a file-specific sync or server-side issue.

Dropbox is also installed, but the issue appears to depend on Nextcloud app / Finder extension startup order rather than Dropbox.