# Paths and conflicts

What a write returns at a path already taken, beneath a file or ending in a slash.

A write that conflicts with an existing entry returns 409 with the conflict in `error_summary`, and so does each write the last table names, at the path its row gives. Use these refusals to test a client's conflict handling. Boot the simulator as in the Quickstart, then upload other bytes over an existing file:

```bash
H='Authorization: Bearer sl.placeholder'
J='Content-Type: application/json'
O='Content-Type: application/octet-stream'
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/notes.md","mode":"add"}' --data-binary 'other' | jq -c .error_summary
# -> "path/conflict/file/..."
```

### Upload over an existing file

An upload to a path that holds a file returns, by its `mode` and bytes:

| `mode` | Other bytes | The bytes the file holds |
|---|---|---|
| `add`, the default | 409 `path/conflict/file` | 200 and the file unchanged; with `strict_conflict: true`, 409 `path/conflict/file` |
| `overwrite`, or `update` naming the file's `rev` | 200 and the file replaced | 200 and the file unchanged |
| `update` naming another `rev` | 409 `path/conflict/file` | 409 `path/conflict/file` |

With `autorename: true`, an upload the table refuses lands under the first free name instead. Try each case:

```bash
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/notes.md","mode":"add","autorename":true}' --data-binary 'other' | jq -c '{name}'
# -> {"name":"notes (1).md"}
REV=$(curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/draft.txt","mode":"add"}' --data-binary 'v1' | jq -r .rev)
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/draft.txt","mode":"add"}' --data-binary 'v1' | jq -c --arg r "$REV" '{name, unchanged: (.rev == $r)}'
# -> {"name":"draft.txt","unchanged":true}
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/draft.txt","mode":"add","strict_conflict":true}' --data-binary 'v1' | jq -c .error_summary
# -> "path/conflict/file/..."
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/draft.txt","mode":"overwrite"}' --data-binary 'v2' | jq -c --arg r "$REV" '{name, replaced: (.rev != $r)}'
# -> {"name":"draft.txt","replaced":true}
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/upload" -H "$H" -H "$O" -H 'Dropbox-API-Arg: {"path":"/draft.txt","mode":{".tag":"update","update":"'"$REV"'"}}' --data-binary 'v3' | jq -c .error_summary
# -> "path/conflict/file/..."
```

### Write beneath a file or to a path ending in a slash

```bash
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/create_folder_v2" -H "$H" -H "$J" -d '{"path":"/notes.md/drafts"}' | jq -c .error_summary
# -> "path/conflict/file_ancestor/..."
curl -s "$RYSTIC_URL/2/files/create_folder_v2" -H "$H" -H "$J" -d '{"path":"/Reports/"}' | jq -c .error_summary
# -> "path/malformed_path/..."
```

### Which writes refuse which path

| Path | Refused by | Error |
|---|---|---|
| beneath a file | `restore`, an upload, an upload-session finish, `create_folder_v2`, `move_v2`, `copy_v2` and each entry of a batch move or copy | `conflict/file_ancestor` |
| `/` or one ending in `/` | `save_url` and the same writes apart from `restore` | `malformed_path` |

`file_requests/create` accepts either path as its `destination`, and `save_url` accepts a path beneath a file (unconfirmed).

---

Source: https://www.rystic.ai/docs/simulators/dropbox/features/paths-and-conflicts · Markdown: https://www.rystic.ai/docs/simulators/dropbox/features/paths-and-conflicts.md