Dropbox

Dropbox

Access the Dropbox API with managed OAuth authentication. Manage files and folders, search content, retrieve metadata, and work with file revisions.

Quick Start

# List files in root folder
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({"path": ""}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Base URL

https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/{endpoint}

The gateway proxies requests to api.dropboxapi.com and automatically injects your OAuth token.

Important: Dropbox API v2 uses POST for all endpoints with JSON request bodies.

Authentication

All requests require the Maton API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY

Environment Variable: Set your API key as MATON_API_KEY:

export MATON_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Getting Your API Key

1. Sign in or create an account at maton.ai
2. Go to maton.ai/settings
3. Copy your API key

Connection Management

Manage your Dropbox OAuth connections at https://ctrl.maton.ai.

List Connections

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections?app=dropbox&status=ACTIVE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Create Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({'app': 'dropbox'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Get Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Response:

{
  "connection": {
    "connection_id": "1efbb655-88e9-4a23-ad3b-f3e19cbff279",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "creation_time": "2026-02-09T23:34:49.818074Z",
    "last_updated_time": "2026-02-09T23:37:09.697559Z",
    "url": "https://connect.maton.ai/?session_token=...",
    "app": "dropbox",
    "metadata": {}
  }
}

Open the returned url in a browser to complete OAuth authorization.

Delete Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}', method='DELETE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Specifying Connection

If you have multiple Dropbox connections, specify which one to use with the Maton-Connection header:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({"path": ""}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '1efbb655-88e9-4a23-ad3b-f3e19cbff279')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

If omitted, the gateway uses the default (oldest) active connection.

API Reference

Users

Get Current Account

POST /dropbox/2/users/get_current_account
Content-Type: application/json

null

Response:

{
  "account_id": "dbid:AAA-AdT84WzkyLw5s590DbYF1nGomiAoO8I",
  "name": {
    "given_name": "John",
    "surname": "Doe",
    "familiar_name": "John",
    "display_name": "John Doe",
    "abbreviated_name": "JD"
  },
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "email_verified": true,
  "disabled": false,
  "country": "US",
  "locale": "en",
  "account_type": {
    ".tag": "basic"
  },
  "root_info": {
    ".tag": "user",
    "root_namespace_id": "11989877987",
    "home_namespace_id": "11989877987"
  }
}

Get Space Usage

POST /dropbox/2/users/get_space_usage
Content-Type: application/json

null

Response:

{
  "used": 538371,
  "allocation": {
    ".tag": "individual",
    "allocated": 2147483648
  }
}

Files and Folders

List Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/list_folder
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "",
  "recursive": false,
  "include_deleted": false,
  "include_has_explicit_shared_members": false
}

Use empty string "" for the root folder.

Optional Parameters:

• recursive - Include contents of subdirectories (default: false)
• include_deleted - Include deleted files (default: false)
• include_media_info - Include media info for photos/videos
• limit - Maximum entries per response (1-2000)

Response:

{
  "entries": [
    {
      ".tag": "file",
      "name": "document.pdf",
      "path_lower": "/document.pdf",
      "path_display": "/document.pdf",
      "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ",
      "client_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:12Z",
      "server_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:13Z",
      "rev": "016311c063b4f8700000002caa704e3",
      "size": 538371,
      "is_downloadable": true,
      "content_hash": "6542845d7b65ffc5358ebaa6981d991bab9fda194afa48bd727fcbe9e4a3158b"
    },
    {
      ".tag": "folder",
      "name": "Documents",
      "path_lower": "/documents",
      "path_display": "/Documents",
      "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABw"
    }
  ],
  "cursor": "AAVqv-MUYFlM98b1QpFK6YaYC8L1s39lWjqbeqgWu4un...",
  "has_more": false
}

Continue Listing Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/list_folder/continue
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "cursor": "AAVqv-MUYFlM98b1QpFK6YaYC8L1s39lWjqbeqgWu4un..."
}

Use when has_more is true in the previous response.

Get Metadata

POST /dropbox/2/files/get_metadata
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf",
  "include_media_info": false,
  "include_deleted": false,
  "include_has_explicit_shared_members": false
}

Response:

{
  ".tag": "file",
  "name": "document.pdf",
  "path_lower": "/document.pdf",
  "path_display": "/document.pdf",
  "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ",
  "client_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:12Z",
  "server_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:13Z",
  "rev": "016311c063b4f8700000002caa704e3",
  "size": 538371,
  "is_downloadable": true,
  "content_hash": "6542845d7b65ffc5358ebaa6981d991bab9fda194afa48bd727fcbe9e4a3158b"
}

Create Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/create_folder_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/New Folder",
  "autorename": false
}

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    "name": "New Folder",
    "path_lower": "/new folder",
    "path_display": "/New Folder",
    "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABw"
  }
}

Copy File or Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/copy_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "from_path": "/source/file.pdf",
  "to_path": "/destination/file.pdf",
  "autorename": false
}

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    ".tag": "file",
    "name": "file.pdf",
    "path_lower": "/destination/file.pdf",
    "path_display": "/destination/file.pdf",
    "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAACA"
  }
}

Move File or Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/move_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "from_path": "/old/location/file.pdf",
  "to_path": "/new/location/file.pdf",
  "autorename": false
}

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    ".tag": "file",
    "name": "file.pdf",
    "path_lower": "/new/location/file.pdf",
    "path_display": "/new/location/file.pdf",
    "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAACA"
  }
}

Delete File or Folder

POST /dropbox/2/files/delete_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/file-to-delete.pdf"
}

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    ".tag": "file",
    "name": "file-to-delete.pdf",
    "path_lower": "/file-to-delete.pdf",
    "path_display": "/file-to-delete.pdf",
    "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ"
  }
}

Get Temporary Download Link

POST /dropbox/2/files/get_temporary_link
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf"
}

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    "name": "document.pdf",
    "path_lower": "/document.pdf",
    "path_display": "/document.pdf",
    "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ",
    "size": 538371,
    "is_downloadable": true
  },
  "link": "https://uc785ee484c03b6556c091ea4491.dl.dropboxusercontent.com/cd/0/get/..."
}

The link is valid for 4 hours.

Search

Search Files

POST /dropbox/2/files/search_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "query": "document",
  "options": {
    "path": "",
    "max_results": 100,
    "file_status": "active",
    "filename_only": false
  }
}

Response:

{
  "has_more": false,
  "matches": [
    {
      "highlight_spans": [],
      "match_type": {
        ".tag": "filename"
      },
      "metadata": {
        ".tag": "metadata",
        "metadata": {
          ".tag": "file",
          "name": "document.pdf",
          "path_display": "/document.pdf",
          "path_lower": "/document.pdf",
          "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABw"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Continue Search

POST /dropbox/2/files/search/continue_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "cursor": "..."
}

File Revisions

List Revisions

POST /dropbox/2/files/list_revisions
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf",
  "mode": "path",
  "limit": 10
}

Response:

{
  "is_deleted": false,
  "entries": [
    {
      "name": "document.pdf",
      "path_lower": "/document.pdf",
      "path_display": "/document.pdf",
      "id": "id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ",
      "client_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:12Z",
      "server_modified": "2026-02-09T19:58:13Z",
      "rev": "016311c063b4f8700000002caa704e3",
      "size": 538371,
      "is_downloadable": true
    }
  ],
  "has_more": false
}

Restore File

POST /dropbox/2/files/restore
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf",
  "rev": "016311c063b4f8700000002caa704e3"
}

Tags

Get Tags

POST /dropbox/2/files/tags/get
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "paths": ["/document.pdf", "/folder"]
}

Response:

{
  "paths_to_tags": [
    {
      "path": "/document.pdf",
      "tags": [
        {
          ".tag": "user_generated_tag",
          "tag_text": "important"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "path": "/folder",
      "tags": []
    }
  ]
}

Add Tag

POST /dropbox/2/files/tags/add
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf",
  "tag_text": "important"
}

Returns null on success.

Note: Tag text must match pattern [\w]+ (alphanumeric and underscores only, no hyphens or spaces).

Remove Tag

POST /dropbox/2/files/tags/remove
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "path": "/document.pdf",
  "tag_text": "important"
}

Returns null on success.

Batch Operations

Delete Batch

POST /dropbox/2/files/delete_batch
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "entries": [
    {"path": "/file1.pdf"},
    {"path": "/file2.pdf"}
  ]
}

Returns async job ID. Check status with /files/delete_batch/check.

Copy Batch

POST /dropbox/2/files/copy_batch_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "entries": [
    {"from_path": "/source/file1.pdf", "to_path": "/dest/file1.pdf"},
    {"from_path": "/source/file2.pdf", "to_path": "/dest/file2.pdf"}
  ],
  "autorename": false
}

Move Batch

POST /dropbox/2/files/move_batch_v2
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "entries": [
    {"from_path": "/old/file1.pdf", "to_path": "/new/file1.pdf"},
    {"from_path": "/old/file2.pdf", "to_path": "/new/file2.pdf"}
  ],
  "autorename": false
}

Pagination

Dropbox uses cursor-based pagination. When has_more is true, use the /continue endpoint with the returned cursor.

import os
import requests

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

# Initial request
response = requests.post(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder',
    headers=headers,
    json={'path': '', 'limit': 100}
)
result = response.json()
all_entries = result['entries']

# Continue while has_more is True
while result.get('has_more'):
    response = requests.post(
        'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder/continue',
        headers=headers,
        json={'cursor': result['cursor']}
    )
    result = response.json()
    all_entries.extend(result['entries'])

print(f"Total entries: {len(all_entries)}")

Code Examples

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.MATON_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ path: '' })
  }
);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.entries);

Python

import os
import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/list_folder',
    headers={
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={'path': ''}
)
data = response.json()
print(data['entries'])

Python (Create Folder and Search)

import os
import requests

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

# Create folder
response = requests.post(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/create_folder_v2',
    headers=headers,
    json={'path': '/My New Folder', 'autorename': False}
)
folder = response.json()
print(f"Created folder: {folder['metadata']['path_display']}")

# Search for files
response = requests.post(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/dropbox/2/files/search_v2',
    headers=headers,
    json={'query': 'document'}
)
results = response.json()
print(f"Found {len(results['matches'])} matches")

Notes

• All Dropbox API v2 endpoints use HTTP POST method
• Request bodies are JSON (not form-urlencoded)
• Use empty string "" for the root folder path
• Paths are case-insensitive but case-preserving
• File IDs (e.g., id:Awe3Av8A8YYAAAAAAAAABQ) persist even when files are moved or renamed
• Tag text must match pattern [\w]+ (alphanumeric and underscores only)
• Temporary download links expire after 4 hours
• Rate limits are generous and per-user
• IMPORTANT: When piping curl output to jq or other commands, environment variables like $MATON_API_KEY may not expand correctly in some shell environments

Error Handling

Error responses include details:

{
  "error_summary": "path/not_found/...",
  "error": {
    ".tag": "path",
    "path": {
      ".tag": "not_found"
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting: Invalid API Key

When you receive an "Invalid API key" error, ALWAYS follow these steps before concluding there is an issue:

1. Check that the MATON_API_KEY environment variable is set:

echo $MATON_API_KEY

2. Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Resources

• Dropbox HTTP API Overview
• Dropbox Developer Portal
• Dropbox API Explorer
• DBX File Access Guide