---
name: dropbox-lite
description: Upload, download, and manage files in Dropbox with automatic OAuth token refresh.
homepage: https://www.dropbox.com/developers
---

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

1. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps
2. Click "Create app"
3. Choose "Scoped access"
4. Choose "Full Dropbox" (or "App folder" for limited access)
5. Name your app
6. Note the App key and App secret

2. Set Permissions

In the app settings under "Permissions", enable:

• files.metadata.read
• files.metadata.write
• files.content.read
• files.content.write
• account_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:

1. Open it in a browser
2. Authorize the app
3. 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:

1. On 401 Unauthorized, it uses the refresh token to get a new access token
2. Updates dropbox.env with the new access token
3. Retries 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-insensitive
• Use 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/