Dropbox MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for Dropbox integration, written in Go. This server allows AI assistants like Claude to interact with Dropbox through a standardized protocol.

Features

OAuth 2.0 Authentication: Secure authentication with Dropbox using browser-based OAuth flow
File Operations: List, search, download, upload, move, copy, and delete files
Folder Management: Create folders and navigate directory structures
Sharing: Create, list, and revoke shared links
Version Control: View file revision history and restore previous versions
Large File Support: Automatic chunked upload for files over 150MB

Prerequisites

A Dropbox account
Claude Desktop application
Go 1.21 or higher (only for building from source)

Installation

Option 1: Install with Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew tap ngs/tap
brew install dropbox-mcp-server

Option 2: Install with Go

go install go.ngs.io/dropbox-mcp-server@latest

Option 3: Download Pre-built Binary

Download the latest release for your platform from the releases page.

# Example for macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -L https://github.com/ngs/dropbox-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/dropbox-mcp-server_darwin_arm64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv dropbox-mcp-server /usr/local/bin/

# Example for macOS (Intel)
curl -L https://github.com/ngs/dropbox-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/dropbox-mcp-server_darwin_amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv dropbox-mcp-server /usr/local/bin/

# Example for Linux (x86_64)
curl -L https://github.com/ngs/dropbox-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/dropbox-mcp-server_linux_amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv dropbox-mcp-server /usr/local/bin/

Option 4: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/ngs/dropbox-mcp-server.git
cd dropbox-mcp-server
go build -o dropbox-mcp-server

Setup

⚠️ Security Notice

IMPORTANT: Each user must create their own Dropbox App. Never share or embed CLIENT_SECRET in binaries. See SECURITY.md for details.

1. Create a Dropbox App

Go to Dropbox App Console
Click "Create app"
Choose configuration:
- Choose an API: Select "Scoped access"
- Choose the type of access: Select "Full Dropbox" or "App folder" based on your needs
- Name your app: Enter a unique name for your app
After creation, go to the app's settings page
Under "OAuth 2", add redirect URI: http://localhost:8080/callback
Note down your App key (Client ID) and App secret (Client Secret)
In the "Permissions" tab, ensure the following scopes are selected:
- files.content.read - View content of your Dropbox files and folders
- files.content.write - Edit content of your Dropbox files and folders
- files.metadata.read - View information about your Dropbox files and folders
- files.metadata.write - View and edit information about your Dropbox files and folders
- sharing.read - View your shared files and folders
- sharing.write - Create and modify your shared files and folders

2. Configure Claude Desktop

Option A: Using Claude MCP CLI (Recommended)

If you have Claude MCP CLI installed, you can register the server with a single command:

# Basic registration (replace with YOUR OWN App credentials)
claude mcp add dropbox dropbox-mcp-server \
  --env DROPBOX_CLIENT_ID=your_own_app_key \
  --env DROPBOX_CLIENT_SECRET=your_own_app_secret

# With custom binary path
claude mcp add dropbox /path/to/dropbox-mcp-server \
  --env DROPBOX_CLIENT_ID=your_own_app_key \
  --env DROPBOX_CLIENT_SECRET=your_own_app_secret

⚠️ Security: Use credentials from YOUR OWN Dropbox App. Never use shared credentials.

Option B: Manual Configuration

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dropbox": {
      "command": "dropbox-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "DROPBOX_CLIENT_ID": "your_app_key_here",
        "DROPBOX_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_app_secret_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note:

If you installed via Homebrew or placed the binary in /usr/local/bin, you can use just "command": "dropbox-mcp-server"
If you built from source or downloaded to a custom location, use the full path: "command": "/path/to/dropbox-mcp-server"

3. Verify Installation

After configuration, restart Claude Desktop and verify the server is connected:

# List registered MCP servers (if using Claude MCP CLI)
claude mcp list

# Remove a server if needed
claude mcp remove dropbox

Usage

Initial Authentication

When you first use the Dropbox MCP server in Claude:

Use the dropbox_auth tool to authenticate
Your browser will open to Dropbox's authorization page
Log in and authorize the app
You'll be redirected to a success page
The authentication token will be saved to ~/.dropbox-mcp-server/config.json

Available Tools

Authentication

dropbox_auth - Authenticate with Dropbox
dropbox_check_auth - Check authentication status

File Operations

dropbox_list - List files and folders
dropbox_search - Search for files
dropbox_get_metadata - Get file/folder metadata
dropbox_download - Download file content
dropbox_upload - Upload a file
dropbox_create_folder - Create a new folder
dropbox_move - Move or rename files/folders
dropbox_copy - Copy files/folders
dropbox_delete - Delete files/folders

Sharing

dropbox_create_shared_link - Create a shared link
dropbox_list_shared_links - List existing shared links
dropbox_revoke_shared_link - Revoke a shared link

Version Control

dropbox_get_revisions - Get file revision history
dropbox_restore_file - Restore a file to a previous version

Example Commands in Claude

"Please authenticate with Dropbox"
"List all files in my Dropbox root folder"
"Search for PDF files containing 'invoice'"
"Upload this text to /Documents/notes.txt"
"Create a shared link for /Photos/vacation.jpg"
"Show me the revision history of /Documents/report.docx"

Configuration

The server stores configuration in ~/.dropbox-mcp-server/config.json:

{
  "client_id": "your_client_id",
  "client_secret": "your_client_secret",
  "access_token": "your_access_token",
  "refresh_token": "your_refresh_token",
  "expires_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Tokens are automatically refreshed when they expire.

Security Considerations

The configuration file contains sensitive tokens and is stored with 0600 permissions
Client credentials can be provided via environment variables instead of config file
OAuth flow uses state parameter to prevent CSRF attacks
All API calls use HTTPS

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Ensure redirect URI is correctly configured in Dropbox App Console
Check that client ID and secret are correct
Try deleting ~/.dropbox-mcp-server/config.json and re-authenticating

Permission Errors

Verify your Dropbox app has the required scopes enabled
Check file paths are correct (use forward slashes, start with /)

Connection Issues

Ensure you have internet connectivity
Check if Dropbox API is accessible from your network
Review stderr output for detailed error messages

Development

Building from Source

go mod download
go build -o dropbox-mcp-server

Running Tests

go test ./...

Project Structure

dropbox-mcp-server/
├── main.go                 # MCP server implementation
├── go.mod                  # Go module definition
├── internal/
│   ├── auth/              # OAuth authentication
│   ├── config/            # Configuration management
│   ├── dropbox/           # Dropbox API client
│   └── handlers/          # MCP tool handlers
├── mcp.json               # MCP server metadata
└── README.md              # This file

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Support

For issues and questions, please open an issue on GitHub.