docs: trim the #234 comments to the load-bearing facts

The detach path's KDoc and inline comments restated the bug narrative that
already lives in the commit message and the issue. Keep what a reader of
the code needs — why the branch exists, what the detached row loses, and
why the insert precedes the EXDATE update — and drop the rest.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,18 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+- **"Only this event" now actually saves your edit.** On some calendars —
+  including Google ones that still show as on-device, and any local calendar —
+  editing a single occurrence of a repeating event did nothing at all: the scope
+  dialog closed, the edit screen stayed put, and saving again just repeated it.
+  Android can only attach a single-occurrence change to its series once the
+  calendar has been synced at least once, so on those calendars the change had
+  nowhere to go. Calendula now removes that one occurrence from the series and
+  saves the edit as its own event instead, which is what you see either way. A
+  save that does fail also says so for longer, rather than flashing past
+  ([#234]).
+
 ## [2.19.3] — 2026-08-22
 
 ### Added
@@ -1471,3 +1483,4 @@ automatically, with zero telemetry and no internet permission.
 [#192]: https://codeberg.org/jlmakiola/calendula/issues/192
 [#196]: https://codeberg.org/jlmakiola/calendula/issues/196
 [#214]: https://codeberg.org/jlmakiola/calendula/issues/214
+[#234]: https://codeberg.org/jlmakiola/calendula/issues/234

app/src/main/java/de/jeanlucmakiola/calendula/data/calendar/CalendarDataSource.kt

@@ -232,10 +232,15 @@ interface CalendarDataSource {
     ): Long
 
     /**
-     * Change a single occurrence of a recurring event by inserting a
+     * Change a single occurrence of a recurring event at [beginMillis] (the
-     * modified-occurrence exception at [beginMillis] (the occurrence's
+     * occurrence's `Instances.BEGIN`) to [form]'s values; returns the
-     * `Instances.BEGIN`) carrying [form]'s values; returns the exception
+     * `Events._ID` of the row now holding them.
-     * row's `Events._ID`. [allDayReminderTimeMinutes]: see [insertEvent].
+     *
+     * A series with a `_sync_id` gets a modified-occurrence exception. One
+     * without gets the occurrence excluded from the parent via EXDATE plus a
+     * standalone event carrying the edits — an exception cannot link to its
+     * parent there (Codeberg #234, the same constraint as [deleteOccurrence]).
+     * [allDayReminderTimeMinutes]: see [insertEvent].
      */
     fun updateOccurrence(
         eventId: Long,
@@ -1194,6 +1199,13 @@ class AndroidCalendarDataSource @Inject constructor(
         form: EventForm,
         allDayReminderTimeMinutes: Int,
     ): Long {
+        val row = querySeriesRow(eventId)
+        // Stricter than deleteOccurrence's bare _sync_id check: EXDATE only means
+        // something on a row that recurs, so a non-recurring one keeps the
+        // exception path rather than getting a recurrence set written onto it.
+        if (row.syncId == null && !row.rrule.isNullOrBlank()) {
+            return detachOccurrence(eventId, beginMillis, row, form, allDayReminderTimeMinutes)
+        }
         // The provider clones the series row and applies these values on top.
         val values = buildOccurrenceExceptionValues(
             form = form,
@@ -1212,6 +1224,89 @@ class AndroidCalendarDataSource @Inject constructor(
         return exceptionId
     }
 
+    /**
+     * "Edit only this event" on a series with **no `_sync_id`**: drop the
+     * occurrence from the parent with EXDATE and insert the edited values as a
+     * standalone event on the same calendar.
+     *
+     * A modified exception attaches to its parent only through `ORIGINAL_SYNC_ID`,
+     * exactly like the cancelled one [deleteOccurrence] documents; with no
+     * `_sync_id` the link never forms and the edit is lost (Codeberg #234).
+     * EXDATE plus a standalone row needs no link — what a detached instance
+     * degrades to without a `RECURRENCE-ID` to carry it.
+     *
+     * The detached row keeps no stored link back to its series, so: it no longer
+     * travels with it ([moveEvent] copies the master and its `ORIGINAL_ID`
+     * children, and this is neither); its EXDATE hole is an absolute instant, so
+     * re-timing the whole series brings the occurrence back beside the copy (a
+     * #47 delete resurrects the same way); and it is built from the form, not
+     * cloned, so `ORGANIZER`, `STATUS` and the attendee rows [reconcileAttendees]
+     * preserves are dropped — the same limitation as [moveEvent].
+     *
+     * Insert first, so a failure leaves the series untouched
+     * ([updateEventFromOccurrence]'s discipline); roll the new row back if the
+     * EXDATE update then fails, since it would be a visible duplicate. The
+     * reverse order risks the worse outcome — an excluded occurrence with no
+     * replacement, i.e. an edit that quietly deletes.
+     */
+    private fun detachOccurrence(
+        eventId: Long,
+        beginMillis: Long,
+        row: SeriesRow,
+        form: EventForm,
+        allDayReminderTimeMinutes: Int,
+    ): Long {
+        // Already detached (or deleted) from a stale screen still pointing at the
+        // parent: the EXDATE merge would fold the repeat away and still report a
+        // changed row, quietly leaving a *second* standalone copy.
+        if (exdateContains(row.exdate, beginMillis, isAllDay = row.allDay != 0)) {
+            throw NoSuchEventException(eventId)
+        }
+        // Reminders, guests and colour come along like any new event, and so does
+        // a fresh UID — the detached row is a separate event now, and sharing the
+        // parent's would collide with it in .ics restore dedup.
+        val detachedId = insertEvent(form.toDetachedOccurrence(), allDayReminderTimeMinutes)
+        val values = buildOccurrenceExdateValues(
+            existingExdate = row.exdate,
+            occurrenceMillis = beginMillis,
+            dtStartMillis = row.dtStartMillis,
+            rrule = row.rrule,
+            duration = row.duration,
+            timezone = row.timezone,
+            allDay = row.allDay,
+        )
+        // Rows touched, not occurrences excluded — 1 whenever the series row still
+        // exists. It catches the row disappearing under us, not an EXDATE the
+        // provider's expansion fails to match.
+        val updatedRows = try {
+            resolver.update(
+                ContentUris.withAppendedId(CalendarContract.Events.CONTENT_URI, eventId),
+                values.toContentValues(), null, null,
+            )
+        } catch (t: Throwable) {
+            rollBackDetached(detachedId)
+            throw t
+        }
+        if (updatedRows == 0) {
+            rollBackDetached(detachedId)
+            throw WriteFailedException(
+                "exdate occurrence for edit, event id=$eventId begin=$beginMillis",
+            )
+        }
+        return detachedId
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Undo the standalone row [detachOccurrence] inserted before its EXDATE
+     * update failed. Best effort: the caller is already throwing, and the worst
+     * case is the duplicate we were avoiding — never a lost occurrence.
+     */
+    private fun rollBackDetached(detachedId: Long) {
+        runCatching { deleteEvent(detachedId) }.onFailure {
+            Log.w(TAG, "Failed to roll back detached occurrence $detachedId", it)
+        }
+    }
+
     override fun updateEventFromOccurrence(
         eventId: Long,
         beginMillis: Long,

app/src/main/java/de/jeanlucmakiola/calendula/data/calendar/EventWriteMapper.kt

@@ -243,6 +243,21 @@ internal fun buildOccurrenceExceptionValues(
     putAll(eventColorColumns(form.colorKey, form.color))
 }
 
+/**
+ * The form as a **detached occurrence**: the same edited values, with the
+ * series rule dropped so [buildEventInsertValues] writes a standalone one-off
+ * row (DTSTART + DTEND, no RRULE/DURATION) at the occurrence's own times.
+ *
+ * The "edit only this event" shape for a series with **no `_sync_id`**, where an
+ * exception row can't attach to its parent at all (Codeberg #234).
+ *
+ * The exception path gets the rule dropped for free — the provider clears the
+ * RRULE it cloned when an exception carries DTSTART + DURATION
+ * ([buildOccurrenceExceptionValues]). Here nothing is cloned, so it is stripped
+ * by hand; leaving it on would insert a second *series* overlapping the first.
+ */
+internal fun EventForm.toDetachedOccurrence(): EventForm = copy(rrule = null)
+
 /**
  * Raw provider snapshot of a master/one-off Events row, enough to re-insert it
  * verbatim on another calendar (a calendar move is copy+delete — `CALENDAR_ID`
@@ -435,6 +450,23 @@ internal fun buildOccurrenceExdateValues(
     )
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether [existingExdate] already excludes the occurrence at [occurrenceMillis]
+ * — i.e. it has already been dropped from the series, deleted or detached.
+ *
+ * Guards the detach path against running twice from a stale screen: the EXDATE
+ * merge folds the repeat away silently and the update still reports one row
+ * changed, so a second save would leave a second standalone copy.
+ */
+internal fun exdateContains(
+    existingExdate: String?,
+    occurrenceMillis: Long,
+    isAllDay: Boolean,
+): Boolean {
+    val stamp = formatExdateStamp(occurrenceMillis, isAllDay)
+    return existingExdate?.split(',')?.any { it.trim() == stamp } == true
+}
+
 /**
  * One EXDATE entry for the occurrence starting at [occurrenceMillis]. Both forms
  * are UTC: the provider stores an all-day DTSTART at UTC midnight, so its date

app/src/main/java/de/jeanlucmakiola/calendula/ui/edit/EventEditScreen.kt

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ import androidx.compose.material3.Scaffold
 import androidx.compose.material3.SegmentedButton
 import androidx.compose.material3.SegmentedButtonDefaults
 import androidx.compose.material3.SingleChoiceSegmentedButtonRow
+import androidx.compose.material3.SnackbarDuration
 import androidx.compose.material3.SnackbarHost
 import androidx.compose.material3.SnackbarHostState
 import androidx.compose.material3.Surface
@@ -264,13 +265,16 @@ fun EventEditScreen(
                 viewModel.reset()
                 onSaved()
             }
+            // A failed save leaves the form looking unchanged, so the snackbar is
+            // the only sign anything happened — long rather than the default
+            // flash (Codeberg #234: it read as "nothing happens at all").
             SaveUiState.Failed -> {
                 viewModel.consumeSaveResult()
-                snackbarHostState.showSnackbar(saveFailedMessage)
+                snackbarHostState.showSnackbar(saveFailedMessage, duration = SnackbarDuration.Long)
             }
             SaveUiState.NeedsPermission -> {
                 viewModel.consumeSaveResult()
-                snackbarHostState.showSnackbar(writeDeniedMessage)
+                snackbarHostState.showSnackbar(writeDeniedMessage, duration = SnackbarDuration.Long)
             }
             // AwaitingScope/AwaitingConflict/Gone render as dialogs below.
             else -> Unit

app/src/main/java/de/jeanlucmakiola/calendula/ui/edit/EventEditViewModel.kt

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package de.jeanlucmakiola.calendula.ui.edit
 
+import android.util.Log
 import androidx.lifecycle.ViewModel
 import androidx.lifecycle.viewModelScope
 import dagger.hilt.android.lifecycle.HiltViewModel
@@ -56,6 +57,8 @@ import kotlin.time.Duration.Companion.minutes
 import kotlin.time.Instant
 import javax.inject.Inject
 
+private const val TAG = "EventEdit"
+
 /**
  * Where a prefilled [EventEditViewModel.openImported] form came from. The sources
  * want different reminder handling (#49), and differ in whether they own the
@@ -751,7 +754,15 @@ class EventEditViewModel @Inject constructor(
                 throw e
             } catch (e: SecurityException) {
                 SaveUiState.NeedsPermission
+            } catch (e: NoSuchEventException) {
+                // The event or occurrence is already gone: the same answer the
+                // pre-check gives, and better than a bare "couldn't save".
+                SaveUiState.Gone
             } catch (e: Exception) {
+                // The user only gets a generic snackbar, so without this a failed
+                // write leaves nothing to report (Codeberg #234). Scope and event
+                // id only — never the form's content.
+                Log.w(TAG, "Save failed (scope=$scope, eventId=${target?.eventId})", e)
                 SaveUiState.Failed
             }
         }

app/src/test/java/de/jeanlucmakiola/calendula/data/calendar/EventWriteMapperTest.kt

@@ -558,6 +558,174 @@ class EventWriteMapperTest {
         assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.ALL_DAY]).isEqualTo(1)
     }
 
+    // --- toDetachedOccurrence ("edit only this event", no _sync_id) ---
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a detached occurrence drops the series rule and becomes a one-off row`() {
+        val edited = form().copy(title = "Moved", rrule = "FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=TH")
+        val detached = edited.toDetachedOccurrence()
+
+        val values = buildEventInsertValues(
+            form = detached,
+            uid = "uid@calendula",
+            times = detached.toWriteTimes(berlin),
+        )
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.TITLE]).isEqualTo("Moved")
+        // A surviving rule would insert a second *series* overlapping the first
+        // (Codeberg #234's stray duplicate).
+        assertThat(values).doesNotContainKey(CalendarContract.Events.RRULE)
+        assertThat(values).doesNotContainKey(CalendarContract.Events.DURATION)
+        // A one-off row carries DTEND rather than a duration.
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.DTSTART]).isEqualTo(1_781_164_800_000L)
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.DTEND]).isEqualTo(1_781_170_200_000L)
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.EVENT_TIMEZONE]).isEqualTo("Europe/Berlin")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a detached occurrence carries every edited field onto the new row`() {
+        // Built from the form, not cloned from the parent: a field dropped here
+        // is an edit silently lost.
+        val edited = form(timezone = "America/New_York").copy(
+            title = "  Standup  ",
+            location = "Room 2",
+            description = "notes",
+            reminders = listOf(10),
+            availability = Availability.Free,
+            accessLevel = AccessLevel.Private,
+            rrule = "FREQ=DAILY",
+        )
+        val detached = edited.toDetachedOccurrence()
+
+        val values = buildEventInsertValues(
+            form = detached,
+            uid = "uid@calendula",
+            times = detached.toWriteTimes(berlin),
+        )
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.TITLE]).isEqualTo("Standup")
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.EVENT_LOCATION]).isEqualTo("Room 2")
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.DESCRIPTION]).isEqualTo("notes")
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.AVAILABILITY])
+            .isEqualTo(CalendarContract.Events.AVAILABILITY_FREE)
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.ACCESS_LEVEL])
+            .isEqualTo(CalendarContract.Events.ACCESS_PRIVATE)
+        // The pinned zone survives — never re-anchored to the device.
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.EVENT_TIMEZONE]).isEqualTo("America/New_York")
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.UID_2445]).isEqualTo("uid@calendula")
+        // Reminders aren't columns; the insert path seeds them from the form.
+        assertThat(detached.reminders).containsExactly(10)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a detached all-day occurrence stays on UTC midnights`() {
+        val edited = form(
+            isAllDay = true,
+            start = LocalDateTime(LocalDate(2026, 6, 11), LocalTime(0, 0)),
+            end = LocalDateTime(LocalDate(2026, 6, 11), LocalTime(0, 0)),
+        ).copy(title = "Birthday", rrule = "FREQ=YEARLY")
+        val detached = edited.toDetachedOccurrence()
+
+        val values = buildEventInsertValues(
+            form = detached,
+            uid = "uid@calendula",
+            times = detached.toWriteTimes(berlin),
+        )
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.ALL_DAY]).isEqualTo(1)
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.EVENT_TIMEZONE]).isEqualTo("UTC")
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.DTSTART]).isEqualTo(1_781_136_000_000L)
+        // Exclusive DTEND — the next UTC midnight.
+        assertThat(values[CalendarContract.Events.DTEND]).isEqualTo(1_781_222_400_000L)
+        assertThat(values).doesNotContainKey(CalendarContract.Events.RRULE)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `the detached row lands exactly where the parent's exdate removes it`() {
+        // The two halves must agree on the instant, or the user sees the
+        // occurrence twice or not at all.
+        val edited = form().copy(title = "Renamed", rrule = "FREQ=WEEKLY")
+        val occurrenceMillis = 1_781_164_800_000L
+
+        val parent = buildOccurrenceExdateValues(
+            existingExdate = null,
+            occurrenceMillis = occurrenceMillis,
+            dtStartMillis = 1_780_560_000_000L,
+            rrule = "FREQ=WEEKLY",
+            duration = "P5400S",
+            timezone = "Europe/Berlin",
+            allDay = 0,
+        )
+        val detached = edited.toDetachedOccurrence()
+        val inserted = buildEventInsertValues(
+            form = detached,
+            uid = "uid@calendula",
+            times = detached.toWriteTimes(berlin),
+        )
+        assertThat(parent[CalendarContract.Events.EXDATE]).isEqualTo("20260611T080000Z")
+        assertThat(inserted[CalendarContract.Events.DTSTART]).isEqualTo(occurrenceMillis)
+        // The parent keeps its own anchor and rule — only this occurrence leaves.
+        assertThat(parent[CalendarContract.Events.DTSTART]).isEqualTo(1_780_560_000_000L)
+        assertThat(parent[CalendarContract.Events.RRULE]).isEqualTo("FREQ=WEEKLY")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a detached all-day occurrence matches its date-only exdate stamp`() {
+        val parent = buildOccurrenceExdateValues(
+            existingExdate = null,
+            occurrenceMillis = 1_781_136_000_000L, // 2026-06-11T00:00:00Z
+            dtStartMillis = 1_749_600_000_000L,
+            rrule = "FREQ=YEARLY",
+            duration = "P1D",
+            timezone = "UTC",
+            allDay = 1,
+        )
+        val detached = form(
+            isAllDay = true,
+            start = LocalDateTime(LocalDate(2026, 6, 11), LocalTime(0, 0)),
+            end = LocalDateTime(LocalDate(2026, 6, 11), LocalTime(0, 0)),
+        ).copy(rrule = "FREQ=YEARLY").toDetachedOccurrence()
+        val inserted = buildEventInsertValues(
+            form = detached,
+            uid = "uid@calendula",
+            times = detached.toWriteTimes(berlin),
+        )
+        assertThat(parent[CalendarContract.Events.EXDATE]).isEqualTo("20260611")
+        assertThat(inserted[CalendarContract.Events.DTSTART]).isEqualTo(1_781_136_000_000L)
+    }
+
+    // --- exdateContains (guards a second detach of the same occurrence) ---
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an occurrence already excluded is recognised, timed and all-day`() {
+        // Detaching twice would leave a second standalone copy.
+        assertThat(
+            exdateContains("20260611T080000Z", 1_781_164_800_000L, isAllDay = false),
+        ).isTrue()
+        assertThat(
+            exdateContains("20260611", 1_781_136_000_000L, isAllDay = true),
+        ).isTrue()
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an occurrence not in the exdate list is not mistaken for an excluded one`() {
+        assertThat(exdateContains(null, 1_781_164_800_000L, isAllDay = false)).isFalse()
+        assertThat(exdateContains("", 1_781_164_800_000L, isAllDay = false)).isFalse()
+        // A neighbouring occurrence must not match — the guard is per-instant.
+        assertThat(
+            exdateContains("20260610T080000Z", 1_781_164_800_000L, isAllDay = false),
+        ).isFalse()
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an exclusion is found anywhere in a multi-entry exdate list`() {
+        // Whitespace after a comma is legal in the stored column.
+        assertThat(
+            exdateContains(
+                "20260604T080000Z, 20260611T080000Z,20260618T080000Z",
+                1_781_164_800_000L,
+                isAllDay = false,
+            ),
+        ).isTrue()
+    }
+
     // --- per-event colour ---
 
     @Test