Welcome to the DBX Platform developer community and support page. We encourage you to check out our FAQs where we’ve tried to capture how to solve many of our developers’ most common questions.
The Dropbox developer forum is a Dropbox-hosted page where you can get technical support from the Dropbox team and community about specific API issues. You can also provide product feedback and feature requests, stay up to date on the latest Dropbox announcements and brainstorm your ideas with the community. If you’re new to the online community, learn more about engaging here.
You can also find the Dropbox developer community on the following sites:
The new DBX Platform is a unified suite of APIs and tools for developers. We view the DBX Platform as the connective tissue that brings together all a user’s content, devices and apps in a central place.
If you’ve never built using the Dropbox APIs, we recommend checking out the Getting Started with the Dropbox APIs guide. This hands-on tutorial will walk you through the basic steps to get up and running and create a simple app to help organise files within your Dropbox account. We also recommend reading the Developer guide, your go-to reference documentation for building great apps on the DBX Platform and sailing through the app review process.
The DBX Platform offers a number of APIs for different use cases:
In general, you should use the minimum permissions required for your app. When users link their Dropbox account to your app, they’ll be asked to grant the permissions you’ve requested. We find that users are more likely to link their account if minimal permissions are requested. There are two permissions: App folder and Full Dropbox. Read more about how they differ in our developer guide. You can register for multiple versions of your app with different permissions and allow the user to choose the option they prefer. This, however, requires more work for you as the developer, additional UI and an extra decision that your users have to make.
Yes! There’s no cost to you as the developer, and any type of Dropbox account, free or paid, can use your app.
You can prototype and test examples with any Dropbox endpoints using our API Explorer. To test an app that calls the Dropbox Business API endpoints, you can request a free Dropbox Business Development Account. This will allow you to test your app using a standard Dropbox Business team. Development accounts are granted on a by-request basis and are contingent on additional terms and conditions outlined in the request form. Fill in this form to request a development account.
You can get an API app key and secret by creating an app on the app creation page. Once you have an app created, the app key and secret will be available on the app’s page on the App Console. Note that Chooser and Saver have app keys but no app secrets.
You can rename Chooser & Saver apps at any point on the App Console. Core apps still in development status can also be renamed on the App Console. Once apps are in production status, they cannot be renamed by you. We recommend ensuring your apps are named correctly before applying for production. If you have an app in production status that you need renamed, open an API support ticket and we can do it for you.
OAuth is an open protocol used by the Dropbox API for authorising access to resources on Dropbox. It is a more secure alternative to handling user credentials directly. The Dropbox API supports OAuth 2.0, but the official SDKs handle all this for you. You can read more about OAuth on the official OAuth site.
Yes, but you’ll run into issues with trying to link to Dropbox when they’re both installed at the same time. Open an API support ticket and we can help.
Once your app links 50 Dropbox users, you will have two weeks to apply for and receive production status approval. If you want to share your app with the world, you will need to complete the production application process. We respond to nearly all production requests within a few working days. While you may submit your request for production status at any time, it will not be reviewed until your app has linked with at least 50 Dropbox users. You can find more information about applying for production in our developer guide.
Yes, if you need to change the app key and secret on an existing app for any reason, open an API support ticket and we’ll help. Cycling your app key and secret won’t disable existing access tokens.
Yes, open an API support ticket, and we can help.
Get help from the community on the DBX Platform Developer Forum or Stack Overflow. Also, make sure to check out our Developer reference materials.
If you can’t find an answer in the resources above, you can contact API support. The Dropbox team can help you with any problems, questions or comments you have about the DBX Platform.
