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Overview

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Getting started with the Dropbox API

Getting up and running on the DBX Platform is fast and easy. The powerful, yet simple, API allows you to manage and control content programmatically and extend Dropbox capabilities in new and powerful ways. This guide will take you through the basic steps required to get up and running and create a simple file organization app to help organize files within your Dropbox account.

This guide is divided into the following sections:

  1. Creating a Dropbox app and navigating the App Console
  2. Working with the API documentation and API Explorer
  3. Writing a script for a simple expense organizer app

Feel free to skip ahead if you’re already familiar with the content in any given section.

Also, please note that this guide focuses on the full Dropbox API & SDKs. For JavaScript components to quickly and easily allow selecting, saving, and viewing content in Dropbox, see the Chooser, Saver, and Embedder.

Set Up

To get the most out of this guide you’ll need to have a few things in place before we get started:

  • Dropbox account
  • Python installation
  • Dropbox Python SDK
  • Text Editor
  • Zip file of sample expenses

Dropbox account

You’ll need to have a Dropbox account to access the APIs. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up for a free account here.

Please also install the Dropbox desktop application here.

Python Installation

For this guide we’ll be writing the organizer script in Python and we’re going to leverage the Dropbox Python SDK to make accessing endpoints even easier.

  1. Check if you have Python installed on your computer by opening a terminal session, or a Windows cmd shell, and enter: python -V This command will display the current version of your interpreter, or an error stating that Python cannot be found.
  2. If Python is missing, you can install it from here.

Dropbox Python SDK

To install the DBX Platform Python SDK, from the Windows command line or a terminal session enter:

pip install dropbox

Text Editor

Use your favorite plain text editor or Python IDE.

Sample expense files

You can download a collection of sample expense files here.

Now that you have everything setup, you’re ready to build your first Dropbox app.