Scrivener Project Corrupted in OneDrive or iCloud

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Recover the content first

   Copy steps
   1. Don't keep saving in the damaged project; copy it aside
   2. Restore from Scrivener's backup folder or the cloud service's version history (see How to Recover Lost Work)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Move the live project to a local folder

   Copy steps
   1. Close Scrivener and wait for syncing to finish
   2. Copy the .scriv project to a local folder outside OneDrive/iCloud (e.g. a non-synced Documents folder)
   3. Open it from there
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Send backups to the cloud instead

   Copy steps
   1. Settings/Options > Backup: set the backup location to your OneDrive or Dropbox folder
   2. Enable 'Compress automatic backups as zip files' so each backup is a single file
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. If you must sync the live project in OneDrive

   Copy steps
   1. Right-click the folder holding the project > Always keep on this device
   2. Note that users report corruption even with this setting - Dropbox is the service Literature & Latte supports for iOS sync
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Fix the 'not in a recommended save location' warning

   Copy steps
   1. Don't open projects inside the backup folder - copy them out first
   2. Check Project > Project Settings > Backup for an alternate backup location and untick it if it points at the project's own folder
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Documents open empty, chapters disappear, saves fail, or Scrivener warns the project is 'not in a recommended save location'.

Why it happens

• OneDrive Files On-Demand / online-only files
• iCloud Drive syncing a project between Mac and Windows
• Project saved inside Scrivener's own backup folder
• Project-level backup setting pointing at a sync folder

This guide also covers

• scrivener onedrive
• scrivener icloud corrupted
• scrivener not in a recommended save location
• scrivener empty documents

The same problem in other apps

All sync failures guides →

• Ulysses Not Syncing Between Mac and iPhone (Ulysses)
• Obsidian Sync Not Working or Stuck Syncing (Obsidian)
• Notion Not Syncing Between Devices (Notion)
• iA Writer Not Syncing With iCloud (iA Writer)

Other Scrivener errors

• Scrivener Won't Open or Not Responding
• Scrivener Project Already Open Error
• Scrivener Compile Missing Text or Chapters
• Why Is Scrivener So Slow? Typing Lag & Laggy Scrolling
• Scrivener iOS Not Syncing With Dropbox
• Scrivener Sync Conflicts Detected
• How to Recover Lost Work in Scrivener
• Scrivener Blurry Text on Windows (High DPI Scaling)