From 5700c37016a1a6653b39b7135f121782160f89bd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Duncan Tourolle <duncan@tourolle.paris>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:40:36 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Look before overwriting the file we are asking about

The probe PUT its bytes first and read the outcome, which answers the
question by destroying the evidence: pointed at a real sidecar it would
replace an edit with the word "probe", and on success delete it outright.

PROPFIND first. Permissions and status usually settle create-versus-update
on their own, and a path that already exists is now reported and left
alone. `--write` still forces the update test for a file worth losing, and
the cleanup DELETE fires only for a path the probe itself created.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 core/dr-sync-nextcloud/examples/put_probe.rs | 59 ++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 53 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/core/dr-sync-nextcloud/examples/put_probe.rs b/core/dr-sync-nextcloud/examples/put_probe.rs
index 64dd51c..57769fd 100644
--- a/core/dr-sync-nextcloud/examples/put_probe.rs
+++ b/core/dr-sync-nextcloud/examples/put_probe.rs
@@ -9,16 +9,24 @@
 //! an access-control rule from a lock.
 //!
 //! Reads the stored session and its keyring credential, so it exercises the
-//! same account the app does. It writes a few bytes and deletes them again.
+//! same account the app does.
+//!
+//! It PROPFINDs before it writes. A path that already exists is reported and
+//! left alone: overwriting a real sidecar to learn whether we may overwrite it
+//! is a poor trade. Pass `--write` to test an update anyway, which is only
+//! sensible against a file you are willing to lose. Absent paths are written
+//! and deleted again, which tests creation and costs nothing.
 
 use dr_plat::PlatformSecretStore;
 use dr_sync_nextcloud::session::SessionStore;
 
 #[tokio::main(flavor = "current_thread")]
 async fn main() {
-    let mut args = std::env::args().skip(1);
-    let (Some(server), Some(path)) = (args.next(), args.next()) else {
-        eprintln!("usage: put_probe <server-url> <remote/path>");
+    let args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().skip(1).collect();
+    let force = args.iter().any(|a| a == "--write");
+    let mut positional = args.iter().filter(|a| !a.starts_with("--"));
+    let (Some(server), Some(path)) = (positional.next(), positional.next()) else {
+        eprintln!("usage: put_probe [--write] <server-url> <remote/path>");
         std::process::exit(2);
     };
 
@@ -44,7 +52,7 @@ async fn main() {
         session.user_id,
         path
     );
-    println!("PUT {url}");
+    println!("{url}");
 
     let client = reqwest::Client::new();
     let send = |method: reqwest::Method, body: Vec<u8>| {
@@ -58,12 +66,49 @@ async fn main() {
             client
                 .request(method, &url)
                 .basic_auth(user, Some(pass))
+                // Ignored by PUT and DELETE; required by PROPFIND.
+                .header("Depth", "0")
                 .body(body)
                 .send()
                 .await
         }
     };
 
+    // What the server thinks of the path, before we touch it. `oc:permissions`
+    // on a file carries `W` when it may be updated, and the status separates
+    // "exists and refuses updates" from "does not exist yet".
+    let propfind = send(
+        reqwest::Method::from_bytes(b"PROPFIND").expect("valid method"),
+        br#"<?xml version="1.0"?><d:propfind xmlns:d="DAV:" xmlns:oc="http://owncloud.org/ns"><d:prop><oc:permissions/></d:prop></d:propfind>"#.to_vec(),
+    )
+    .await;
+    let exists = match propfind {
+        Ok(resp) => {
+            let status = resp.status();
+            let body = resp.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+            let perms = body
+                .split("<oc:permissions>")
+                .nth(1)
+                .and_then(|t| t.split('<').next())
+                .unwrap_or("(not reported)");
+            println!("PROPFIND -> {status}, permissions: {perms}");
+            if status.is_success() && !perms.contains('W') {
+                println!("  no W: the server will not let this account update it");
+            }
+            status.is_success()
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            println!("PROPFIND failed: {e}");
+            false
+        }
+    };
+
+    if exists && !force {
+        println!("exists already; not overwriting it. Re-run with --write to test an update.");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    println!("PUT (probe bytes)");
     match send(reqwest::Method::PUT, b"probe".to_vec()).await {
         Ok(resp) => {
             let status = resp.status();
@@ -76,7 +121,9 @@ async fn main() {
             {
                 println!("  {}", line.trim());
             }
-            if status.is_success() {
+            // Only tidy up what we brought into being. Deleting a path that
+            // was already there would turn a diagnostic into data loss.
+            if status.is_success() && !exists {
                 let _ = send(reqwest::Method::DELETE, Vec::new()).await;
                 println!("(probe file removed)");
             }