Dropbox MCP Server

A local MCP server that gives Claude (Ancilla) direct control over your Dropbox.

What This Unlocks

Once connected, you can say things like:

• "List everything in my /Projects folder"

• "Search my Dropbox for the Q3 budget file"

• "Move that file to /Archive"

• "Create a shared link for /Reports/Final.pdf"

• "How much Dropbox storage am I using?"

Available Tools

Setup

Step 1 — Get Your Dropbox Access Token

1. Go to https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps

2. Click "Create app"

3. Choose:

   • API: Scoped access

   • Access type: Full Dropbox (or App Folder for limited access)

   • Give it a name (e.g. "Ancilla MCP")

4. On the app settings page, scroll to "OAuth 2"

5. Under "Generated access token", click "Generate"

6. Copy the token — keep it secret, treat it like a password

Permissions needed (set in the "Permissions" tab before generating token):

• files.metadata.read

• files.metadata.write

• files.content.read

• files.content.write

• sharing.read

• sharing.write

⚠️ If you change permissions AFTER generating the token, you must regenerate the token.

Step 2 — Install Node.js (if not already installed)

Check if you have it:

node --version

If not, download from https://nodejs.org — get the LTS version.

Step 3 — Install Dependencies & Build

cd dropbox-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Step 4 — Connect to Claude Desktop

Open your Claude Desktop config file:

Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add this to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dropbox": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/FULL/PATH/TO/dropbox-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace:

• /FULL/PATH/TO/dropbox-mcp-server with the actual path on your machine

• YOUR_TOKEN_HERE with the token from Step 1

Step 5 — Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see the Dropbox tools available.

Troubleshooting

"DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable is not set" → Check your claude_desktop_config.json — the env block must be inside the dropbox server entry.

"invalid_access_token" or "expired_access_token" → Your token is invalid. Go back to the Dropbox developer portal and regenerate it.

"path/not_found" → Dropbox paths are case-sensitive. Use /FolderName not /foldername if that's how it was created.

Tools not showing in Claude → Make sure you fully quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window) and restart it.

Security Notes

• Your access token gives full Dropbox access — treat it like a password

• The token is stored locally in your Claude config — never commit that file to Git

• For production use, consider OAuth with refresh tokens instead of long-lived tokens