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Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud storage and file synchronization service that allows users to store, share, and access files from anywhere.

Dropbox icon

Power end-to-end data operations for your Dropbox storage with Nexla. Our bi-directional Dropbox connector makes it simple to ingest data from and deliver data to any Dropbox location. Nexla automatically organizes ingested data into ready-to-use, reusable data products you can transform, validate, move, and manage at scale, all with no coding required. With comprehensive monitoring, lineage tracking, and access controls, Nexla keeps your Dropbox workflows fast, secure, and fully governed.

Features

Type: File System

SourceDestination

  • Universal file support for any file format including CSV, JSON, Parquet, Avro, and custom binary formats
  • Incremental processing with file change detection and delta sync to process only new or modified files
  • Schema inference that automatically detects file structure and creates appropriate data schemas

Authenticate​

This section provides step-by-step instructions for creating a new Dropbox credential that will allow Nexla to authenticate to your Dropbox account.

  • To create a new Dropbox credential, after selecting the data source/destination type, click the Add Credential tile. This will open a pop-up authorization window.

New Credential Authorization Window – Dropbox

DropboxCred.png

Authorize Access to Dropbox​

Nexla must be authorized to access the Dropbox account that will be associated with this credential before ingesting data from or sending data to Dropbox.

  • Select your preferred Dropbox login method below to view authorization instructions:

    Google/Apple Single Sign-On

    To log into the Dropbox via Google or Apple single sign-on and authorize Nexla to access the account:

    1. Click the Continue with Google or Continue with Apple button, and select the account connected to the Dropbox location.
    2. Click Allow to authorize Nexla to access the files and folders in the Dropbox account.

    Email & Password

    To log into the Dropbox via email and password and authorize Nexla to access the account:

    1. Enter the email associated with the Dropbox account in the Email field, and click Continue.
    2. Enter the password for the Dropbox account in the Password field, and click Log In.
    3. Click Allow to authorize Nexla to access the files and folders in the Dropbox account.

  • After authorizing Nexla to access the account, you will be returned to the Add New Credential overlay in Nexla.

New Credential Overlay – Dropbox

DropboxCred2.png

Credential Name & Description​

  1. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field and a short, meaningful description in the Credential Description field.

    Resource Descriptions

    Resource descriptions should provide information about the resource purpose, data freshness, etc. that can help the owner and other users efficiently understand and utilize the resource.

Advanced Settings​

Optional

For Dropbox credentials, advanced settings are available to configure Nexla to process encrypted files accessed via this credential. These settings are optional and can be configured as needed.

Advanced Credential Settings
Dropbox

Nexla can be configured to process PGP-encrypted files accessed via this credential. When this option is enabled, Nexla will decrypt files before ingestion and encrypt generated files before uploading to the Dropbox location.

  1. To configure Nexla to encrypt/decrypt files when accessing Dropbox via this credential, check the box next to Handle File Encryption/Decryption?.

  2. Enter the following information in the corresponding fields:

    1. External User ID – ID of the user whose public key will be used for encryption/decryption

    2. External User's Public Key – public key that will be used for encryption/decryption

    3. Your User ID for Private Key – user ID that was used to generate the PGP private key

    4. Your Password for Private Key – password for the user ID

    5. Your Private Key – PGP private key that will be used to encrypt/decrypt files

Save the Credential​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Save button at the bottom of the overlay to save the configured credential.

  2. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the Authenticate screen during data source/destination creation and can be selected for use with a new data source or destination.

Use as a data source​

To ingest data from a Dropbox location, follow the instructions in Section 2 of Common Setup for File-Based Storage Systems.

Use as a destination​

To send data to a Dropbox location, follow the instructions in Section 3 of Common Setup for File-Based Storage Systems.