A provided computing device detects a synchronization conflict between two versions of a file and may examine corresponding metadata fields. The computing device may characterize a nature of a difference between metadata fields as immutable, mergeable, or subsumable. Core metadata fields may be defined such that a nature of a difference, or conflict, is categorized as immutable. Non-core metadata fields may be defined such that a nature of a difference, or conflict, is characterized as either mergeable or subsumable. A conflict between corresponding mergeable non-core metadata fields may be resolved by merging values of the corresponding non-core metadata fields. A conflict between corresponding subsumable non-core metadata fields may be resolved by replacing a value of a non-core metadata field of an older of the two versions of the file with a value of a corresponding non-core metadata field of a younger of the two versions of the file.