The representation trick
Files-on-demand stores content in OneDrive with a local placeholder: same folder listing, a small sparse stand-in file, with storage attributes FILE_ATTRIBUTE_RECALL_ON_DATA_ACCESS and reparse-point flags that say “data lives in the cloud.” Your local profile looks bloated while the disk says nothing's there.
Every scanner needs the two rules
- Don't traverse reparse points when computing local usage — the walk belongs to the local bytes counter; placeholder file content would be pulled down by any touch (read attempt = download by design);
- Mark them in output so the report reads as “9.1 GB local, 22.3 GB placeholders,” not as disappearing bytes once OneDrive migrates.
Where this shows up in your day
- Storage tools double-counting the Documents pillowcase of the pictogram;
- Everything-local cleanups that beacon “5 GB saved” by deleting placeholder links (data re-migrates next session, delight collapses);
- ProofTune's bounded scan skipping reparse points precisely because follows = network downloads: read-only means read-only-to-respect-the-disk and the account.
For scripting it: Get-Item -Force + Attributes include ReparsePoint; skip conditions at enumeration level, not action level, or you already pulled the cloud down into your log file.
ProofTune ProjectEngineering notes — every claim here names the bytes a real tool touches. Verify first, install second.
