fix/autosave timer by max-nextcloud · Pull Request #8917 · nextcloud/text

max-nextcloud · 2026-07-27T07:02:06Z

fix(autosave): every time the typing stops
chore(refactor): document tracking into provideSyncService
fix(autosave): only save when server is ready
fix(autosave): better dirty tracking with versions
chore(refactor): Save service with its own bus
chore(refactor): separate SaveService from SyncService and ydoc
fix(autosave): exponential delay for retries on error
fix(autosave): retry if server throttled save request
fix(autosave): handle out of sync clocks

mejo-

I have quite some comments, but most of them are probably indicators that I'm uncertain about the impact of the code changes. To be honest I would prefer pairing review in a call 😆

mejo- · 2026-07-28T12:27:31Z

+		if (now < lastSave + SERVER_AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL) {
+			logger.debug('Not autosaving as last save is recent', { lastSave, now })
+			const nextSave = lastSave + SERVER_AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL + Math.random() * MAX_RANDOM_AUTOSAVE_DELAY
+			setTimeout(() => this.autosave(), (nextSave - now) * 1000)


It took me some time to understand the logic here. If I got it right, it means that the next save will happen sometime between 0 and 13 seconds from now but not before lastSave + 10s.

What's the purpose of randomising it in a range of 3 seconds? To make autosaves more useful because other clients save at a different point in time? Or to lower the load on the server?

Without the random range all clients would attempt to save at the same time. That seemed to be asking for trouble. I had race conditions in mind - but also what you are saying.

I later removed both the attempt at calculating the time the server is available again and the randomness for the sake of simplicity and deterministic behavior of the client for easier testing.

mejo- · 2026-07-28T21:41:15Z

 	 */
 	function updateDocument(event: { document: Document }) {
-		document.value = event.document
+		// Limit lastSavedVersionTime to now. No saving from the future.


Given this change I now wonder whether it's clever to calculate delays by comparing server and client timestamps at all. It's probably pretty common that the clocks differ by a few seconds, no?

I did remove some of the computations later on. But maybe we should fully rely on the clients clock.

Did so now.

Debounce will delay the execution of the function every time it is called. So autosave was waiting until no updates occured for 30 seconds. That's a long time and does not feel responsive. Try to autosave every time the user stops typing for at least one second. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Also removed the document attribute from the `sync` event load. It is already included in the `change` event load. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

The server will only accept autosaves every 10 seconds. `document` contains the last saved timestamp. Compute the time to autosave next. Add a small random delay (up to 3 seconds) to avoid all connected clients from saving at the same time. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Keep track of the version that has our changes and compare it to the last saved version on the server. This allows fixing two scenarios: * Server response happily to save but does not actually save. The server will only save new versions every 10 seconds. If the latest save just happened it will still respond with 200 but list the outdated version in the response. Comparing the versions shows that our changes have not been saved yet. * Other user already saved the file. our changes. So far dirty would stay true until WE save our changes. Comparing the versions also shows the file was saved when it was saved by someone else. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

* `getSaveData` now prepares the data to send to the server. * `provideSaveService` now handles all the sync service events calling functions on `saveService` where needed. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

The server will only perform one actual save every 10 seconds. Trigger another autosave if the save attempt was throttled. `document` is udpated by throttled save attempts. Rely on its `lastSavedVersionTime` for the retry. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

* If the server claims to have saved the doc in the future use the current timestamp instead. Autosave happens at least ten seconds after `lastSavedVersionTime`. So if that was far into the future it would never happen. * If the server is living in the past delay the autosave retries without relying on `lastSavedVersionTime`. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Adding a random offset makes determenistic testing harder. Now we also do not depend on in sync clocks. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Autosave is triggered by the push of the steps. Saving before that delays the autosave because of server throttling. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Some of our runners are slow. Give them more time to finish the runs. Also separate local and CI config in the config file. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Only consider the local clock. Avoid problems if clocks are out of sync or if the server is unresponsive and `lastSavedVersionTime` does not get updated Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

max-nextcloud · 2026-07-29T09:23:10Z

/backport to stable34

max-nextcloud force-pushed the fix/autosave-timer branch from 8be1182 to 74180f3 Compare July 28, 2026 08:12

max-nextcloud marked this pull request as ready for review July 28, 2026 08:36

max-nextcloud requested review from mejo- and silverkszlo as code owners July 28, 2026 08:36

max-nextcloud moved this to 🏗️ In progress in 📝 Productivity team Jul 28, 2026

max-nextcloud added this to 📝 Productivity team Jul 28, 2026

max-nextcloud moved this from 🏗️ In progress to 👀 In review in 📝 Productivity team Jul 28, 2026

max-nextcloud self-assigned this Jul 28, 2026

max-nextcloud added the 3. to review label Jul 28, 2026

max-nextcloud force-pushed the fix/autosave-timer branch from ffd4f3b to f89b634 Compare July 28, 2026 08:46

mejo- reviewed Jul 28, 2026

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max-nextcloud force-pushed the fix/autosave-timer branch 3 times, most recently from 3c68cca to b7d8abd Compare July 29, 2026 07:26

max-nextcloud requested a review from mejo- July 29, 2026 07:29

max-nextcloud added 15 commits July 29, 2026 11:01

chore(refactor): document tracking into provideSyncService

5d3c7d8

Also removed the document attribute from the `sync` event load. It is already included in the `change` event load. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(refactor): Save service with its own bus

b114c26

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(refactor): separate SaveService from SyncService and ydoc

8ec98b7

* `getSaveData` now prepares the data to send to the server. * `provideSaveService` now handles all the sync service events calling functions on `saveService` where needed. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

fix(autosave): exponential delay for retries on error

141bab8

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(test): always retry autosave after 10 seconds

f07b93a

Adding a random offset makes determenistic testing harder. Now we also do not depend on in sync clocks. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

fix(indexed-db): rely on autosave when recovering

ed62629

Autosave is triggered by the push of the steps. Saving before that delays the autosave because of server throttling. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(CI): playwright test timeout 45 seconds

6dc751d

Some of our runners are slow. Give them more time to finish the runs. Also separate local and CI config in the config file. Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(test): mtime is optional in upload file fixture

9bacc1c

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

fix(autosave): throttle to SERVER_AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL

3f8b96a

Only consider the local clock. Avoid problems if clocks are out of sync or if the server is unresponsive and `lastSavedVersionTime` does not get updated Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

chore(tests): fix autosave test with new timing

9f94542

Signed-off-by: Max <max@nextcloud.com>

max-nextcloud force-pushed the fix/autosave-timer branch from df12393 to 9f94542 Compare July 29, 2026 09:02

mejo- approved these changes Jul 29, 2026

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backportbot Bot added the backport-request label Jul 29, 2026

max-nextcloud merged commit 4ad091c into main Jul 30, 2026
61 checks passed

max-nextcloud deleted the fix/autosave-timer branch July 30, 2026 07:28

github-project-automation Bot moved this from 👀 In review to ☑️ Done in 📝 Productivity team Jul 30, 2026

backportbot Bot mentioned this pull request Jul 30, 2026

[stable34] fix/autosave timer #8928

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fix/autosave timer - #8917

fix/autosave timer#8917
max-nextcloud merged 15 commits into
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fix/autosave-timer

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