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Dropbox API Authentication

How to authenticate Dropbox API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud runs the OAuth flow and refreshes Dropbox tokens for you.

Every Dropbox API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Dropbox account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.

Steps to authenticate

  1. Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
  2. Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
  3. Create a Dropbox connection in Connections. Dropbox uses OAuth. When you create the connection, you are redirected to sign in to Dropbox and approve access — MindCloud stores the resulting tokens and refreshes them automatically, so your integration never has to.
  4. Copy the connection’s connectionId — you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.

How requests are authenticated

Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected Dropbox account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Dropbox credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.

Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.

For example, calling Continue Folder Listing with an Dropbox connection looks like this:

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v1/universal/dropbox/latest/actions/continue-folder-listing" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --get \
  --data-urlencode "connectionId=$CONNECTION_ID"

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Dropbox account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Connect Dropbox

You need access to the Dropbox App Console for the Dropbox app that MindCloud will use.

  1. Open the Dropbox App Console

    Open the Dropbox app you want to use for this MindCloud connection.

  2. Review the app permissions

    In the Permissions section, enable the Dropbox scopes required for your MindCloud workflows and save the changes.

  3. Add the MindCloud redirect URI

    In OAuth 2 settings, add this redirect URI exactly: https://api.mindcloud.co/v1/oauth/dropbox/callback

  4. Copy the app credentials

    Copy the App key and App secret from Dropbox and use them as the Client ID and Client Secret in MindCloud.

Keep your key safe

Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.