dbox

Dropbox integration made easy. This robust client gives you control over what, where, and when you sync with Dropbox.

Available as both a command-line client and a Ruby API.

$ cd /tmp
$ dbox clone Public
$ cd Public
$ echo "Hello World" > hello.txt
$ dbox sync
[INFO] Uploading /Public/hello2.txt

IMPORTANT: This is not an automated Dropbox client. It will exit after sucessfully pushing/pulling, so if you want regular updates, you can run it in cron, a loop, etc. If you do want to run it in a loop, take a look at sample_polling_script.rb. You get deterministic control over what you want Dropbox to do and when you want it to happen.

Installation

Install dbox

$ gem install dbox

Get developer keys

Follow the instructions at https://www.dropbox.com/developers/quickstart to create a Dropbox development application, and copy the application keys. Unless you get your app approved for production status, these keys will only work with the account you create them under, so make sure you are logged in with the account you want to access from dbox.
Now either set the keys as environment variables:

$ export DROPBOX_APP_KEY=cmlrrjd3j0gbend
$ export DROPBOX_APP_SECRET=uvuulp75xf9jffl

Or include them in calls to dbox:

$ DROPBOX_APP_KEY=cmlrrjd3j0gbend DROPBOX_APP_SECRET=uvuulp75xf9jffl dbox ...

Generate an auth token

Make an authorize request:

$ dbox authorize
Please visit the following URL in your browser, log into Dropbox, and authorize the app you created.

http://www.dropbox.com/0/oauth/authorize?oauth_token=j2kuzfvobcpqh0g

When you have done so, press [ENTER] to continue.

Visit the given URL in your browser, and then go back to the terminal and press Enter.
Now either set the keys as environment variables:

$ export DROPBOX_AUTH_KEY=v4d7l1rez1czksn
$ export DROPBOX_AUTH_SECRET=pqej9rmnj0i1gcxr4

Or include them in calls to dbox:

$ DROPBOX_AUTH_KEY=v4d7l1rez1czksn DROPBOX_AUTH_SECRET=pqej9rmnj0i1gcxr4 dbox ...

This auth token will last for 10 years, or when you choose to invalidate it, whichever comes first. So you really only need to do this once, and then keep them around.

Using dbox from the Command-Line

Usage

Authorize

$ dbox authorize

Create a new Dropbox folder

$ dbox create <remote_path> [<local_path>]

Clone an existing Dropbox folder

$ dbox clone <remote_path> [<local_path>]

Pull (download changes from Dropbox)

$ dbox pull [<local_path>]

Push (upload changes to Dropbox)

$ dbox push [<local_path>]

Sync (pull changes from Dropbox, then push changes to Dropbox)

$ dbox sync [<local_path>]

Move (move/rename the Dropbox folder)

$ dbox move <new_remote_path> [<local_path>]

Example

$ export DROPBOX_APP_KEY=cmlrrjd3j0gbend
$ export DROPBOX_APP_SECRET=uvuulp75xf9jffl

$ dbox authorize

$ open http://www.dropbox.com/0/oauth/authorize?oauth_token=aaoeuhtns123456

$ export DROPBOX_AUTH_KEY=v4d7l1rez1czksn
$ export DROPBOX_AUTH_SECRET=pqej9rmnj0i1gcxr4

$ cd /tmp
$ dbox clone Public
$ cd Public
$ echo "Hello World" > hello.txt
$ dbox push

$ cat ~/Dropbox/Public/hello.txt
Hello World
$ echo "Oh, Hello" > ~/Dropbox/Public/hello.txt

$ dbox pull
$ cat hello.txt
Oh, Hello

Using dbox from Ruby

The Ruby clone, pull, and push APIs return a hash of the changes made during that operation. If any failures were encountered while uploading or downloading from Dropbox, they will be shown in the :failed entry in the hash. Often, trying your operation again will resolve the failures as the Dropbox API occasionally returns errors for valid operations.

{ :created => ["foo.txt"], :deleted => [], :updated => [] :failed => [] }

If any conflicts occur where file contents would be lost, the conflicting file is renamed and the resulting hash has a :conflicts entry. On a push operation, the conflicting file being pushed will be renamed. On a pull, the existing file that would have been overwritten will be renamed and the downloaded file will take the name (as that will keep multiple clients in sync).

{ :created => [], :updated => [], :deleted => [], :conflicts => [{ :original => "foo.txt", :renamed => "foo (1).txt" }], :failed => [] }

The sync API returns a hash with two entries: :push and :pull, which contain the change hashes for the two operations.