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Forum Discussion
headless ubuntu not syncing
Hi All,
I sucessfully installed dropbox on a headless ubuntu server using the following guide:
https://www.linuxbabe.com/ubuntu/install-dropbox-headless-ubuntu-server
The dropbox file/folders sync correctly when starting dropbox using the dropbox command line utiliy.
The dropbox daemon appears running:
$ systemctl status dropbox
● dropbox.service - Dropbox Daemon
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/dropbox.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2023-01-04 13:24:15 PST; 5s ago
Process: 24630 ExecStop=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 24635 (dropbox)
CGroup: /system.slice/dropbox.service
├─24635 /opt/dropbox/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-163.4.5456/dropbox
└─24671 /home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/dropbox /newerversion
Jan 04 13:24:16 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/opt/dropbox/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-163.4.5456/psutil._psutil_linux.cpython-38-x86_64-lin
Jan 04 13:24:16 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/opt/dropbox/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-163.4.5456/psutil._psutil_posix.cpython-38-x86_64-lin
Jan 04 13:24:17 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/opt/dropbox/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-163.4.5456/tornado.speedups.cpython-38-x86_64-linux-g
Jan 04 13:24:18 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/opt/dropbox/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-163.4.5456/wrapt._wrappers.cpython-38-x86_64-linux-gn
Jan 04 13:24:19 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/cryptography.hazmat.bindings
Jan 04 13:24:19 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/cryptography.hazmat.bindings
Jan 04 13:24:19 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/apex._apex.cpython-38-x86_64
Jan 04 13:24:19 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/psutil._psutil_linux.cpython
Jan 04 13:24:19 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/psutil._psutil_posix.cpython
Jan 04 13:24:20 zeus dropboxd[24635]: dropbox: load fq extension '/home/rajeev/.dropbox-dist/dropbox-lnx.x86_64-164.4.7914/tornado.speedups.cpython-38-
After a reboot the sync does not appear to be running and the command line states Dropbox is not running:
$ dropbox status
Dropbox isn't running!
I require the dropbox to automatically sync after reboot. What am I missing?
The headless ubuntu Dropbox sync is syncing now without any manual intervention).
1) Use this link to install dropbox on ubuntu: https://www.dropbox.com/install-linux
2) Use this link to setup dropbox systemd service unit: https://www.linuxbabe.com/ubuntu/install-dropbox-headless-ubuntu-server
Modify the dropbox.service file to call dropboxd using the install location in step 1 (not location in step 2 guide)
What was not clear to me before is the dropbox systemd daemon is running in superuser mode under the "username" account. To access/control the dropbox daemon from command line, sudo -u username dropbox <options> must be done.
That sums it up. Thanks to the knowledgble members who posted in the thread.
HI Walter,
Thank you for your message.
To summarize I installed the headless dropbox on a headless ubuntu 16.04 and confired a systemd service unit to run at system boot time (using my username as opposed to root). Finally, I enabled the auto-start at system boot as any other systemd service unit by issuing the following command: $sudo systemctl enable dropbox
My understanding is the above will setup the system to always run the dropboxd after system reboot. No manual intervention is required.
The dropbox.py (Dropbox Desktop App) and dropboxd work together yes?
Every time I run dropbox status is always returns Dropbox isn't running yet some files appeared to sync correctly. So I'm really confused and do not feel confident the system is setup correctly.
jainraje wrote:...
Every time I run dropbox status is always returns Dropbox isn't running yet some files appeared to sync correctly. ...
Hi jainraje,
Did you make sure you have run 'dropbox status' under the same user context like the Dropbox daemon? Take in mind that every user can have independent Dropbox context and running the control script in one context targets the Dropbox daemon on the same context, not any other! 😉
Hope this helps.
