---
title: Dropbox
icon: dropbox
description: Set up Dropbox OAuth2 credentials and obtain a long-lived refresh token.
---

## Overview

The Dropbox resource uses OAuth2 with a long-lived refresh token to authenticate against the
[Dropbox v2 HTTP API](https://www.dropbox.com/developers/documentation/http/documentation):

- **`/2/files/list_folder`**, list folder entries
- **`/2/files/download`**, download file bytes
- **`/2/files/search_v2`**, search files by name/content
- **`/2/files/get_metadata`**, fetch entry metadata

Two flows are supported:

- **Code flow with client secret**, for Node/server. Needs `client_id`, `client_secret`, `refresh_token`.
- **PKCE flow**, for browsers. Needs only `client_id` and `refresh_token` (no secret in the bundle).

Both produce the same long-lived refresh token; the resource auto-refreshes short-lived access
tokens (≈4h) behind the scenes.

## Setup

### 1. Create a Dropbox App

1. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps
1. Click **Create app**
1. Choose:
   - API: **Scoped access**
   - Access type: **App folder** (sandboxed to one folder Dropbox creates for you) or
     **Full Dropbox** (your entire account). Pick App folder for least privilege.
   - Name it (e.g., "Mirage") -> **Create app**

### 2. Configure Permissions

On the app's settings page, click the **Permissions** tab and check:

- `files.metadata.read`, list folders, read file metadata
- `files.content.read`, download file bytes

If you also want write/delete (not used by the read-only resource yet), check
`files.content.write` and `files.metadata.write`.

Click **Submit** at the bottom of the Permissions tab. **Required**: Dropbox does not include
unchecked scopes in tokens, even if the auth URL requests them.

### 3. Configure OAuth 2 Redirect URI

On the **Settings** tab, scroll to **OAuth 2 -> Redirect URIs** and add:

- For the CLI flow below: `http://localhost:1`
- For the browser PKCE example: `http://localhost:5173/dropbox_pkce.html`

Click **Add** after each.

### 4. Copy the App Key (and Secret)

Still on **Settings**, copy:

- **App key**, this is your `DROPBOX_APP_KEY`
- **App secret**, click **Show** -> copy. This is your `DROPBOX_APP_SECRET`. **Skip if you
  only need the PKCE flow.**

### 5. Get the Refresh Token (CLI flow with client secret)

This mirrors the Google flow, easiest path for Node/server use.

**A) Open this URL in a browser** (replace `YOUR_APP_KEY`):

```
https://www.dropbox.com/oauth2/authorize?client_id=YOUR_APP_KEY&response_type=code&token_access_type=offline&redirect_uri=http://localhost:1
```

- `token_access_type=offline`, **required** to receive a refresh token. Without this you only
  get a short-lived access token.

**B) Authorize:** sign in -> click **Allow**.

**C) Copy the code:** the browser redirects to `http://localhost:1?code=ABC...` (the page won't
load, expected). Copy the `code` value from the URL bar.

**D) Exchange the code for a refresh token:**

```bash
curl https://api.dropboxapi.com/oauth2/token \
  -d "code=THE_CODE_FROM_STEP_C" \
  -d "grant_type=authorization_code" \
  -d "client_id=YOUR_APP_KEY" \
  -d "client_secret=YOUR_APP_SECRET" \
  -d "redirect_uri=http://localhost:1"
```

The response contains `refresh_token`, save it. Example:

```json
{
  "access_token": "sl.B...",
  "expires_in": 14400,
  "refresh_token": "abc123...",
  "scope": "files.metadata.read files.content.read",
  "token_type": "bearer",
  "uid": "12345",
  "account_id": "dbid:..."
}
```

### 6. Set Environment Variables

```bash
# .env.development
DROPBOX_APP_KEY=abc123app4key
DROPBOX_APP_SECRET=def456app4secret
DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN=ghi789refresh4token
```

## Alternative: PKCE Flow (browser, no client secret)

If you're mounting Dropbox from a browser SPA and don't want to ship a client secret, use the
PKCE flow. The bundled example does the dance end-to-end.

1. In the Dropbox app **Settings** tab, ensure the redirect URI
   `http://localhost:5173/dropbox_pkce.html` is registered (Step 3).
1. Set only `DROPBOX_APP_KEY` in `.env.development` at the repo root (no secret needed).
1. From `examples/typescript/browser/`, run `pnpm dev`.
1. Open `http://localhost:5173/dropbox_pkce.html` and click **Connect Dropbox**.

The example persists the refresh token to `localStorage`, then mounts a `DropboxResource` with
just `{ clientId, refreshToken }` and runs `ls /dropbox/`. Inspect DevTools -> Network -> filter
`token` to confirm refresh calls don't include `client_secret`.

The same `refresh_token` can be reused for headless setups, copy it out of `localStorage` and
set it as `DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN` in your env.

## Token Lifetime

| Token         | Lifetime                                   |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Access token  | ~4 hours (`expires_in: 14400`)             |
| Refresh token | Long-lived; survives until manually revoked |

Refresh tokens get revoked if:

- The user revokes the app at https://www.dropbox.com/account/connected_apps
- The Dropbox account password is changed
- The app is deleted in the developer console

The `DropboxTokenManager` in the resource transparently exchanges the refresh token for a fresh
access token whenever the cached one is within 5 minutes of expiry.

## Scopes Reference

| Scope                    | Purpose                              |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| `files.metadata.read`    | List folders, read file metadata     |
| `files.metadata.write`   | Move, rename, create folders         |
| `files.content.read`     | Download file bytes                  |
| `files.content.write`    | Upload, overwrite, delete files      |
| `sharing.read`           | List shared links and shared folders |
| `account_info.read`      | Account email, country, user info    |

The Mirage resource only needs `files.metadata.read` + `files.content.read` for the read-only
mount. Add the `*.write` scopes if/when write commands land.

## Troubleshooting

| Issue                                                | Fix                                                                                            |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `400 invalid_grant` on token exchange                | The `code` is single-use and expires fast, re-do Step 5A with a fresh URL                     |
| No `refresh_token` in token response                 | Add `token_access_type=offline` to the auth URL                                                |
| `path/not_found/.` on `ls /dropbox/`                 | Account is empty, or app is **App folder** scoped and the sandbox folder hasn't been created  |
| `missing_scope` on download                          | Check `files.content.read` is enabled in the **Permissions** tab and **submitted**             |
| Browser PKCE: redirect URI mismatch                  | Dropbox is strict, `http://localhost:5173/dropbox_pkce.html` must match exactly (no trailing slash) |
| Token works locally but fails after a while          | Access token expired, the `TokenManager` should auto-refresh; if not, refresh token may be revoked |

For TypeScript usage, mount with:

```ts
import { DropboxResource } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const dropbox = new DropboxResource({
  clientId: process.env.DROPBOX_APP_KEY!,
  clientSecret: process.env.DROPBOX_APP_SECRET!,
  refreshToken: process.env.DROPBOX_REFRESH_TOKEN!,
})
```

Or browser (PKCE):

```ts
import { DropboxResource } from '@struktoai/mirage-browser'

const dropbox = new DropboxResource({
  clientId: 'YOUR_APP_KEY',
  refreshToken: refreshTokenFromLocalStorage,
})
```
