Dropbox
Upload, download, list, and search files in Dropbox. Supports automatic token refresh.
Required Credentials
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
DROPBOX_APP_KEY |
✅ Yes | Your Dropbox app key |
DROPBOX_APP_SECRET |
✅ Yes | Your Dropbox app secret |
DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN |
✅ Yes | OAuth refresh token (long-lived) |
DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN |
Optional | Short-lived access token (auto-refreshed) |
Store in ~/.config/atlas/dropbox.env:
DROPBOX_APP_KEY=your_app_key
DROPBOX_APP_SECRET=your_app_secret
DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN=xxx...
DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN=sl.u.xxx...
Initial Setup (One-Time)
1. Create a Dropbox App
Click "Create app"
Choose "Scoped access"
Choose "Full Dropbox" (or "App folder" for limited access)
Name your app
Note the App key and App secret
2. Set Permissions
In the app settings under "Permissions", enable:
files.metadata.readfiles.metadata.writefiles.content.readfiles.content.writeaccount_info.read
Click "Submit" to save.
3. Run OAuth Flow
Generate the authorization URL:
import urllib.parse
APP_KEY = "your_app_key"
params = {
"client_id": APP_KEY,
"response_type": "code",
"token_access_type": "offline" # This gets you a refresh token!
}
auth_url = "https://www.dropbox.com/oauth2/authorize?" + urllib.parse.urlencode(params)
print(auth_url)
Give the URL to the user. They will:
Open it in a browser
Authorize the app
Receive an authorization code
4. Exchange Code for Tokens
curl -X POST "https://api.dropboxapi.com/oauth2/token" \
-d "code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE" \
-d "grant_type=authorization_code" \
-d "client_id=APP_KEY" \
-d "client_secret=APP_SECRET"
Response includes:
access_token— Short-lived (~4 hours)refresh_token— Long-lived (never expires unless revoked)
Usage
# Account info
dropbox.py account
# List folder
dropbox.py ls "/path/to/folder"
# Search files
dropbox.py search "query"
# Download file
dropbox.py download "/path/to/file.pdf"
# Upload file
dropbox.py upload local_file.pdf "/Dropbox/path/remote_file.pdf"
Token Refresh
The script automatically handles token refresh:
On 401 Unauthorized, it uses the refresh token to get a new access token
Updates
dropbox.envwith the new access tokenRetries the original request
Token Lifecycle
| Token | Lifetime | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Access Token | ~4 hours | Updated automatically |
| Refresh Token | Never expires* | Keep secure, don't share |
*Refresh tokens only expire if explicitly revoked or app access is removed.
Troubleshooting
401 Unauthorized on refresh:
- App may have been disconnected — re-run OAuth flow from step 3
403 Forbidden:
- Check app permissions in Dropbox console
Path errors:
Dropbox paths start with
/and are case-insensitiveUse forward slashes even on Windows
API Reference
OAuth Guide: https://developers.dropbox.com/oauth-guide
API Explorer: https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-api-v2-explorer/