Dropbox for Python Developers

Dropbox for Python

Here's our Python SDK for API v2, which helps you easily integrate Dropbox into your Python app.

Code

Dropbox for Python - Dropbox for Python SDK is open source on GitHub.

Sample apps

  • back-up-and-restore.py - Simple app that shows how to back up user files and restore them to a specific revision.

  • updown.py - Simple app which demonstrates how to sync a local directory with a Dropbox.

Install Dropbox for Python

To get started with Dropbox for Python, we recommend you add the SDK to your project using pip.

Install the Python SDK

Download and install the SDK.

pip install dropbox

Now you can do "import dropbox" in your Python app, or in a Python interpreter.

import dropbox

That's it! Now you're ready to get started with the tutorial.

Dropbox for Python tutorial

A good way to start using the Python SDK is to follow this quick tutorial. Just make sure you have the the Python SDK installed first!

Register a Dropbox API app

To use the Dropbox API, you'll need to register a new app in the App Console. Select Dropbox API app and choose your app's permission. You'll need to use the app key created with this app to access API v2.

Link an account

In order to make calls to the API, you'll need an instance of the Dropbox object. To instantiate, pass in the access token for the account you want to link. (Tip: You can generate an access token for your own account through the App Console).

dbx = dropbox.Dropbox('YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN')

Test it out to make sure you've linked the right account:

dbx.users_get_current_account()

Try some API requests

You can use the Dropbox object you instantiated above to make API calls. Try out some of the files requests.

List all of the contents in the user's root directory:

for entry in dbx.files_list_folder('').entries:
    print(entry.name)

# OUTPUT:
# Cavs vs Warriors

Upload a file (and take a wild guess at tomorrow's headline):

dbx.files_upload(b"Potential headline: Game 5 a nail-biter as Warriors inch out Cavs", '/cavs vs warriors/game 5/story.txt')

Get the metadata for a file (and prove that you called it before the game was over!):

print(dbx.files_get_metadata('/Cavs vs Warriors/Game 5/story.txt').server_modified)

# OUTPUT:
# 2015-06-15 02:45:12

Documentation

You can read more in the documentation. There's also a sample script called "updown.py" in the examples folder. Check it out!

Dropbox for Python documentation

Here's the full documentation for the Python SDK.