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Forum Discussion
JohnCrawford
7 years agoNew member | Level 2
“something similar” to SCP for Dropbox
I'm trying to backup some file on my Linux server to Dropbox. I do *NOT* want to install Dropbox on my server as I do *NOT* want any of the files on my Dropbox account to be on this server.
I'm looking for something similar to SCP, so it will look like this:
scp backupDocument.txt mydropbox:/folder/save
Basically I should be able to copy a file from my server and paste that file into my Dropbox account without needing to install Dropbox on the actual server.
- Well, if your server doesn’t have a GUI whatsoever, then you’ll need to find another solution to somehow access a browser, since there isn’t a Dropbox command line to directly login to your account.You could use a CLI browser like Lynx and open the link there to see if that helps.Otherwise, you could even type the link generated on a normal computer which does have a browser, and after a short time the server will be connected.
- Shelton K.Helpful | Level 5
Better answer:
I recommend using rclone. It's like rsync but for third-party services.
Once you have it set up, your usage syntax will look fairly similar to your `scp` example. Here is how you would copy an entire "source" directory to dropbox:
rclone copy /home/source remote:path/to/dest
And configuration is pretty easy too. Just run "rclone config" and it will step you through the entire process of asking for your tokens and keys. It supports syncing and comparisons based on modification date, size, or checksum. Plus, it fully supports Dropbox for Business accounts and Team Folders.
:pushpin: Dropbox-specific documentation
Be sure not to use the app ID that comes with rclone since it is used by anyone who didn't change the default. Create your own Dropbox App ID here: https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps/create
Rclone has been around for a long time, has frequent updates and lots of support. Highly recommended.
- Kostia K.New member | Level 2I found a solution that allows me to do exactly this. It's called dropbox-up loader. It uses the Dropbox api. It's simple to setup first go get an api key from Dropbox then follow these steps : https://github.com/andreafabrizi/Dropbox-Uploader
I am using it to backup my servers data to my Dropbox every night. (1.5 gib)- relbudNew member | Level 2
Have you tried rclone?
- JayDropbox StaffHi John, if you don’t want to install the Dropbox desktop application, that means you won’t have a Dropbox folder on the machine, so it won’t sync automatically.Are you not able to upload the file to the Dropbox site directly? Are you planning to create an app using the Dropbox API instead?
- JohnCrawfordNew member | Level 2
This is being installed on a server and as such there is no GUI.
The install instructions found here: https://www.dropbox.com/install-linux are not that helpful as it doesn't have any details on how to connect to your actual Dropbox account.
- JayDropbox StaffThe Python script at the bottom of the page tells you how to control the Dropbox desktop application daemon, and there’s also this article with commands used in the script.However, simply installing from that page means you want files to sync to your machine, which is the opposite of what you want.Of course, you could use the exclude button to selectively unsync every single folder on your account. Provided there’s nothing in the root Dropbox folder, no files should download to the server.Regardless, you won’t be able to upload to the Dropbox site without any folders actively syncing, so in the end this won’t help with your query.
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