Dropbox MCP server

The Dropbox MCP Server is an integration that allows Model Context Protocol (MCP) compatible clients to interact with Dropbox, providing a set of powerful tools for file operations, metadata handling, and account management through Dropbox's API.

Installation

Prerequisites

You need to register a Dropbox app before using this server:

1. Go to the Dropbox App Console
2. Choose "Scoped access" API
3. Select the appropriate access type
4. Name your app and click "Create app"
5. Under "Permissions", enable the following:
   • files.metadata.read
   • files.content.read
   • files.content.write
   • sharing.write
   • account_info.read
6. Add http://localhost:3000/callback as your redirect URI
7. Note your App key and App secret for later use

Setup Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/dbx-mcp-server.git
   cd dbx-mcp-server
   

2. Install dependencies and build

   npm install
   npm run build
   

3. Run the setup script

   npm run setup
   

4. Configure MCP settings

   Add the following to your MCP settings file:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "dbx": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["/path/to/dbx-mcp-server/build/index.js"]
       }
     }
   }
   

Authentication

The server uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for secure Dropbox authentication.

Required Environment Variables

Set the following environment variables:

• DROPBOX_APP_KEY: Your Dropbox app's key
• DROPBOX_APP_SECRET: Your Dropbox app's secret
• DROPBOX_REDIRECT_URI: OAuth redirect URI
• TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY: 32+ character key for token encryption

Optional Environment Variables

• TOKEN_REFRESH_THRESHOLD_MINUTES: Minutes before expiration to refresh token (default: 5)
• MAX_TOKEN_REFRESH_RETRIES: Maximum number of refresh attempts (default: 3)
• TOKEN_REFRESH_RETRY_DELAY_MS: Delay between refresh attempts in ms (default: 1000)

Available Tools

File Operations

• list_files: List files in a directory
• upload_file: Upload a file
• download_file: Download a file
• safe_delete_item: Safely delete with recycle bin support
• create_folder: Create a new folder
• copy_item: Copy a file or folder
• move_item: Move or rename a file/folder

Metadata and Search

• get_file_metadata: Get file/folder metadata
• search_file_db: Search files and folders
• get_sharing_link: Create sharing links
• get_file_content: Get file contents

Account Operations

• get_account_info: Get account information

Usage Examples

Here are examples of how to use the tools through an MCP client:

Listing Files

// List files in root directory
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "list_files", { path: "" });

Uploading Files

// Upload a file
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "upload_file", {
  path: "/test.txt",
  content: Buffer.from("Hello World").toString("base64"),
});

Searching Files

// Search for files
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "search_file_db", {
  query: "report",
  path: "/Documents",
  max_results: 10,
});

Creating Folders

// Create a new folder
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "create_folder", {
  path: "/New Folder"
});

Managing Files

// Move or rename a file
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "move_item", {
  from_path: "/old_name.txt",
  to_path: "/new_name.txt"
});

// Copy a file
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "copy_item", {
  from_path: "/source.txt",
  to_path: "/destination.txt"
});

Getting Account Information

// Get account information
await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "get_account_info", {});

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "dbx" '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/dbx-mcp-server/build/index.js"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "dbx": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/dbx-mcp-server/build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your 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

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "dbx": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/dbx-mcp-server/build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect