Find the Dropbox Folder on a computer

Updated Mar 21, 2024
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This information in this article applies to all Dropbox customers.

After you install the Dropbox desktop app, you can find the default location of Dropbox in your File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac). It will be named “Dropbox”.

However, you could have chosen a different location for it or moved it. If so, follow these steps to find it:

Windows

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. Type %HOMEPATH%/Dropbox into the address bar.
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Note: If you’ve connected a personal and work Dropbox account, you'll need to specify which Dropbox folder you're trying to reach. For example:

- ~/Dropbox (Personal)

- ~/Dropbox (Acme Inc)

macOS

If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:

  1. Open Finder and select Go to folder... from the Go menu.
  2. In the dialog box that appears, type  ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox .
  3. Press the return key.

If you’re running an earlier version of macOS:

  1. Open Finder and select Go to folder... from the Go menu.
  2. In the dialog box that appears, type ~/Dropbox/.
  3. Press the return key.
     

Linux

Open a terminal and type cd ~/Dropbox.
 

Create a shortcut to the Dropbox folder on your computer

For easier access to the Dropbox folder on your computer, you can create a shortcut. To do so:

  1. Go directly to the Dropbox folder’s location.
  2. Right-click the Dropbox folder.
  3. Click Make Alias (or Make Link on Linux). 

Your shortcut will appear with alias appended to the name of the file. You can move the shortcut to the location you’d like to store it in.

How to programmatically find Dropbox folder paths

By default, the Dropbox folder is located in your user folder. If you moved your Dropbox folder, or if you connected a work and personal, it may be located elsewhere or have a name other than "Dropbox." You can programmatically find the folder path through a JSON file.

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Note: If you connected your work and personal accounts on this computer, your JSON file will show two accounts. The JSON file will only have one account listed if you have one account or your accounts aren't connected on this computer.

In the JSON files below:

  • business/personal is the type of Dropbox account
  • host is an identifier that uniquely specifies a particular user account and computer pair
  • path is the path to this Dropbox folder

Select your operating system below to see further instructions.

The JSON file is named info.json and can be found at one of these two paths:

%APPDATA%\Dropbox\info.json
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Dropbox\info.json
In this file, you'll find a JSON object that looks like this:

{

    {"personal":

            {"path": "/Users/<username>/Dropbox (Personal)",

            "host": 123456789, 

            "is_team": false, 

            "subscription_type": "Basic"},

     {"business": 

            {"path": "/Users/<username>/Dropbox (<business name>)", 

            "host": 123456789, 

            "is_team": true, 

            "subscription_type": "Business"}

}
The JSON file is named info.json and can be found at:
   ~/.dropbox/info.json
In this file, you'll find a JSON object that looks like this:

 {

    {"personal":

            {"path": "/Users/<username>/Dropbox (Personal)",

            "host": 123456789, 

            "is_team": false, 

            "subscription_type": "Basic"},



     {"business": 

            {"path": "/Users/<username>/Dropbox (<business name>)", 

            "host": 123456789, 

            "is_team": true, 

            "subscription_type": "Business"}

    }
The JSON file is named info.json and can be found at:
~/.dropbox/info.json
In this file, there's a JSON object that looks like this:

"personal": {

        "path": /home/<username>/Dropbox

        "host": 123456789,

        "is_team": false

        "subscription_type": "Basic"

    }
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