Dropbox MCP server

The dbx-mcp-server provides integration with Dropbox for MCP-compatible clients, allowing interaction with Dropbox files and services through a standardized protocol interface. This server acts as a bridge between MCP clients and the Dropbox API, offering a suite of tools for file operations, metadata access, and account management.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before installing the server, you need to register a Dropbox app:

1. Visit the Dropbox App Console
2. Choose "Scoped access" API
3. Select the appropriate access type for your needs
4. Name your app and click "Create app"
5. Under "Permissions", select these required permissions:
   • 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 configuration

Installation

Follow these steps to install the server:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/dbx-mcp-server.git
cd dbx-mcp-server

# Install dependencies and build
npm install
npm run build

# Run the setup script
npm run setup

Configuration

Environment Variables

Set up the following environment variables for authentication:

Required:

• 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:

• 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)

MCP Client Configuration

Add the server to your MCP settings file:

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

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 some examples of how to use the server with an MCP client:

Listing Files

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

File Upload

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

File Search

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

Creating a Folder

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

Getting File Content

// Download a file's content
const result = await mcp.useTool("dbx-mcp-server", "get_file_content", {
  path: "/Documents/example.txt"
});
// The content will be returned as a base64-encoded string

Getting Account Information

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

Authentication

The server uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for secure authentication with Dropbox. When you run the setup script, it will guide you through the authentication process, including generating the necessary authorization URL and handling the callback to receive and store access tokens securely.

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