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Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud storage and file synchronization service with cross-platform support. In Blober, Dropbox paths use this format:

/folder/subfolder/file.ext

Capabilities

Section titled “Capabilities”
  • ✅ Browse folders and files
  • ✅ Upload files (simple upload up to 150 MB, upload sessions up to ~2 TB)
  • ✅ Download files
  • ✅ Create folders (automatically created when uploading)
  • ✅ Delete files/folders
  • ✅ Copy files within Dropbox
  • ✅ Move files within Dropbox
  • ✅ View file metadata (size, dates)
  • ✅ Progress tracking for uploads

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”

Required Credentials

Section titled “Required Credentials”

App Key

Section titled “App Key”
  • Option key: appKey
  • Format: Alphanumeric string
  • Example: abc123def456

Found on your app’s Settings tab in the Dropbox App Console, labeled App key.

App Secret

Section titled “App Secret”
  • Option key: appSecret
  • Format: Alphanumeric string
  • Example: xyz789ghi012

Found on your app’s Settings tab, labeled App secret — click Show to reveal it.

Access Token

Section titled “Access Token”
  • Option key: accessToken
  • Format: Short-lived bearer token string
  • Example: sl.B0abc123...

Generated from your app’s Settings tab — scroll to OAuth 2, then click the Generated access token button. This produces a short-lived token (valid for approximately 4 hours).

Required Scopes (Permissions)

Section titled “Required Scopes (Permissions)”

Your Dropbox App must have these permissions enabled before generating an access token:

ScopePurpose
files.metadata.readBrowse and list files/folders
files.metadata.writeCreate folders, move/copy files
files.content.readDownload files
files.content.writeUpload and delete files
account_info.readVerify connection to your account

Setup Guide

Section titled “Setup Guide”

1. Create a Dropbox App

Section titled “1. Create a Dropbox App”
  1. Go to the Dropbox App Console
  2. Click “Create app”
  3. Under “Choose an API”, select “Scoped access”
  4. Under “Choose the type of access you need”, select “Full Dropbox” to access all files, or “App folder” to limit access to a single folder
  5. Enter an app name (e.g., Blober)
  6. Click “Create app”

2. Configure Permissions

Section titled “2. Configure Permissions”

You must set permissions before generating an access token — tokens inherit the scopes that were active at the time of generation.

  1. In your app’s page, click the “Permissions” tab

  2. Under “Individual Scopes”, enable the following:

    Files and folders:

    • ☑️ files.metadata.read
    • ☑️ files.metadata.write
    • ☑️ files.content.read
    • ☑️ files.content.write

    Account info:

    • ☑️ account_info.read

  3. Click “Submit” at the bottom of the page

3. Copy App Key and App Secret

Section titled “3. Copy App Key and App Secret”
  1. Click the “Settings” tab of your app
  2. Copy the App key — displayed directly on the page
  3. Copy the App secret — click “Show” to reveal it

4. Generate an Access Token

Section titled “4. Generate an Access Token”
  1. Still on the “Settings” tab, scroll down to the “OAuth 2” section
  2. Under “Generated access token”, click “Generate”
  3. Copy the token that appears — it is only shown once

5. Connect in Blober

Section titled “5. Connect in Blober”
  1. In Blober, go to Workflows => New Workflow
  2. Select Dropbox as source or destination
  3. Enter your App Key, App Secret, and Access Token in the corresponding fields
  4. Test by browsing your Dropbox files

File Organization

Section titled “File Organization”

Dropbox uses a hierarchical folder structure with forward-slash paths:

/Documents/Work/report.pdf
/Photos/2026/January/IMG_001.jpg
/Videos/vacation.mp4
  • Paths are case-insensitive but case-preserving (e.g., /Photos and /photos refer to the same folder, but the display name keeps its original casing)
  • Folders are created automatically when uploading a file to a path that doesn’t exist yet
  • The root of your Dropbox is represented by /

Upload Limits

Section titled “Upload Limits”
MethodMax File SizeWhen Used
Simple upload150 MBFiles ≤ 150 MB
Upload session~2 TBFiles > 150 MB or unknown size
  • Blober automatically chooses the right upload method based on file size
  • Upload sessions split large files into 10 MB chunks with progress tracking
  • If the file size is unknown, Blober defaults to the upload session method for safety

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

”Authentication failed” or 401 errors

Section titled “”Authentication failed” or 401 errors”
  • Your access token may have expired — generated tokens last approximately 4 hours
  • Generate a new token from the App Console and update it in Blober
  • Verify your App Key and App Secret are correct and belong to the same app

Missing credentials

Section titled “Missing credentials”
  • Ensure all three fields are filled in: App Key, App Secret, and Access Token
  • Check for leading/trailing whitespace when pasting values

Insufficient permissions

Section titled “Insufficient permissions”
  • Verify all required scopes are enabled in the Permissions tab
  • If you changed permissions after generating your token, generate a new one — existing tokens do not pick up new scopes

Files not appearing

Section titled “Files not appearing”
  • Refresh the file list in Blober
  • If using App folder access, files outside the app’s folder are not visible
  • Check that the files exist in the Dropbox web app at dropbox.com

Slow uploads

Section titled “Slow uploads”
  • Large files are uploaded in 10 MB chunks — this is normal and ensures reliability
  • Check your network speed
  • Dropbox may throttle uploads during high-traffic periods

How to revoke access

Section titled “How to revoke access”
  1. Go to Dropbox account settings
  2. Find your app and click “Disconnect”
  3. In Blober, remove the existing connection

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”

Storage

Section titled “Storage”
  • Free tier: 2 GB
  • Plus plan: 2 TB
  • Professional: 3 TB
  • Business: 5 TB+ per user

Rate Limiting

Section titled “Rate Limiting”
  • Dropbox applies rate limits on API requests
  • Blober automatically handles HTTP 429 responses by waiting and retrying
  • Very large batch operations may take longer due to throttling

Path Length

Section titled “Path Length”
  • Maximum path length: 260 characters
  • Individual file/folder names: up to 255 characters

External References

Section titled “External References”