Unable to Unlock Vault and “dir.c9r is empty, expected content”

Help Desktop App
1

Hi everyone,

I’m facing a critical issue with my Cryptomator vault “Family”. Here are the details:

Problem Description:

  1. An integrity check flagged the following critical error:

File /Users/benheld/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/Family/d/HG/XDZAPO6WQ77SFMUU7MUNPVDALPRHMX/1YhOIk6X3YtJP9572mq8QZgbOFGvjLLhDkjn8Gg9EFC5aywl8fMlDzvLhLdVZMqMJUcVy6a223QWxu9wEw==.c9r/dir.c9r is empty, expected content

  1. The “Fix” button in the integrity check tool is disabled, so I cannot attempt an automated repair.
  2. The vault cannot be unlocked, leaving me unable to access my data.

Setup Details:

  • Operating System: macOS Sequoia 15.2 (Apple M3 Max, 64GB RAM)
  • Cryptomator Version: 1.14.2
  • Vault Storage Location: Dropbox
  • Vault Name: Family
  • File System: APFS
  • Drive Type: Standard (FUSE-T, Experimental)
  • Mounting Point: Automatic

Questions:

  1. Is there any way to manually recover the corrupted dir.c9r file or rebuild the directory structure?
  2. Could this be resolved by restoring the file from Dropbox’s version history?
  3. Are there alternative recovery steps I should consider?

Thank you for your help!
Best regards,
Ben

2

Yes, this could resolve the problem. But a regular sync of this file can also fix it. You can check over the UI of your cloud storage, if the file contains any content. If not, see if you can recover from some backup.

If this is not possible, delete the dir.c9r and its parent folder und run the directory check. It will report an error about an orphan directory, that you can fix. The oprhaned directory is reintegrated into the vault filesystem on the path /LOST+FOUND/... but its name is lost.

3

Infeo, thanks a lot for your post. It didnt run for me, but i have fixed it by downgrading to 1.14.1 - with that version, no errors, no probs, instant decryption from the folder… Dont ask me, please - i dont understand it myself :joy:

Sorry for stealing your time. I will stay on 1.14.1 as long as i can.