Dropbox Folder Downloader

Download large folders from Dropbox shared links that are too big for the web interface.

Features

• Downloads files from Dropbox shared folder links
• Resume support: Skips already-downloaded files
• Auto-refresh: OAuth refresh tokens automatically renew (no 4-hour expiry)
• Retry logic: Handles connection drops with exponential backoff
• Recursive: Downloads all subfolders

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7 or later
• dropbox Python package

# Create and activate a virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/.virtualenvs/dropbox
source ~/.virtualenvs/dropbox/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install dropbox

Setup

1. Create a Dropbox App

1. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps
2. Click "Create app"
3. Select "Scoped access"
4. Select "Full Dropbox"
5. Give it a name (e.g., "folder-downloader")
6. Click "Create app"

2. Configure Permissions

1. Go to the Permissions tab
2. Enable these checkboxes:
   • files.content.read
   • sharing.read
3. Click "Submit" at the bottom to save

3. Get App Credentials

1. Go to the Settings tab
2. Copy the App key
3. Click "Show" next to App secret and copy it

4. Authenticate

Run the authentication script:

python dropbox_auth.py --app-key YOUR_APP_KEY --app-secret YOUR_APP_SECRET

This will:

1. Display a URL to visit in your browser
2. Ask you to authorize the app and copy the code
3. Save credentials to ~/.dropbox_credentials.json

The refresh token doesn't expire, so you only need to do this once.

Usage

Basic Download

python dropbox_download.py -o /path/to/output "DROPBOX_SHARED_URL"

Dry Run (list files without downloading)

python dropbox_download.py --dry-run "DROPBOX_SHARED_URL"

Using a Short-lived Token (alternative to OAuth)

If you prefer not to set up OAuth, you can use a short-lived access token:

python dropbox_download.py --token YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN -o /path/to/output "URL"

Note: Access tokens expire after ~4 hours.

Examples

# Download a shared folder
python dropbox_download.py -o ./downloads "https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/abc123/..."

# Preview what will be downloaded
python dropbox_download.py --dry-run "https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/abc123/..."

# Resume a failed download (just run the same command again)
python dropbox_download.py -o ./downloads "https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/abc123/..."

Getting the Shared URL

1. Navigate to the folder in Dropbox web interface
2. Click "Share" button
3. Copy the link

The URL should look like:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/{folder_id}/{hash}/{path}?rlkey={key}&...

Troubleshooting

"This app is not valid" error

• Make sure you clicked "Submit" on the Permissions tab after enabling permissions
• Verify the app key is correct

Token expired

If using OAuth with refresh token, it should auto-renew. If it fails:

python dropbox_auth.py --app-key YOUR_KEY --app-secret YOUR_SECRET

Connection errors

The script automatically retries with exponential backoff. If downloads keep failing:

• Check your internet connection
• Try again later (Dropbox may be rate limiting)

Resuming downloads

Just run the same command again. The script checks file sizes and skips already-downloaded files.

File Structure

~/.dropbox_credentials.json   # OAuth credentials (created by dropbox_auth.py)
dropbox_auth.py               # One-time OAuth setup
dropbox_download.py           # Main download script