Let's upload a text file to Dropbox in Python


Here we'll show you how to use our Python SDK to upload a file to Dropbox. For this tutorial, you'll need Python 2.6 (or later) installed on your system.

Get Set Up

1 Log in to Temboo. If you don't already have an account, you can register for free.

2Create a new .py file in the directory where you'd like to build this Python sample project. In this example, we'll call the file TembooTest.py, though you can call it whatever you like.

3Download the Temboo Python SDK and extract the .zip file to the same directory as your new .py file.

4You'll need a free Dropbox account. If you don't already have one, you can sign up here.

5If you haven't already, create a Dropbox app in the Dropbox App Console.

When asked to choose an API, select Dropbox API. Choose the type of access your application will need: App folder or Full Dropbox. The app name can be whatever you like. When you're done, click Create app.

Dropbox App Console

6On the next page, specify the callback URL below as a Redirect URI. Make sure to replace ACCOUNT_NAME with your Temboo account name.

https://ACCOUNT_NAME.temboolive.com/callback/dropbox

To Access to Your Own Dropbox

7If you will only be needing access to your own account, you can generate an Access Token in the Dropbox App Console. Click the Generate button in the OAuth 2 section of your app settings page.

Generating a Dropbox access token for your own account

To Access to Another User's Dropbox

8In order to access Dropbox accounts other than your own, you will need to complete the OAuth process. If you only need access to your own account, you can skip ahead to the next section.

To begin, go to Dropbox > OAuth > InitializeOAuth in the Temboo code generation library. In the INPUT section of the page, enter the AppKey found on your app settings page within the Dropbox App Console.

Supplying inputs needed for Dropbox Initialize OAuth

9Click the Generate Code button to run InitializeOAuth from the Temboo site. Scroll down to the OUTPUT section of the page. Save the CallbackID to use in the next steps.

Outputs returned by Initialize OAuth

10The owner of the Dropbox account that your application needs to access will need to visit the AuthorizationURL found in the OUTPUT section. They should click the Allow button on the page to grant the application permission to access their account. Once they see a blank page in the browser, it's safe to close the page.

Allowing your app to access a Dropbox account

11Once permission has been granted on the AuthorizationURL page, you're ready to complete the OAuth process. Visit Dropbox > OAuth > FinalizeOAuth in the Temboo code generation library. In the INPUT section of the page, enter the AppKey and AppSecret found on your app settings page in the Dropbox App Console.

Supply the CallbackID that was returned in the OUTPUT section of the InitializeOAuth page.

Required inputs for Finalize OAuth

12Now, with all the required inputs in place, click the Generate Code button to run FinalizeOAuth from the Temboo site. Scroll down once again to the OUTPUT section of the page. Here you'll find the AccessToken you'll need for any Dropbox processes for this user's account. Save it for later.

Output returned by Finalize OAuth

Generate the Code

13 Go to the Dropbox > Files > Upload page in our code generation library. From the drop down menu at the top of the page, select Python.

selecting Python as your development platform

14In the INPUT section of the page, enter your Dropbox AccessToken. Click on Save Profile in the upper right corner of the INPUT section to save your Dropbox credentials for easy use in other Dropbox Choreos in the future. Using a Temboo Profile will also make your code simpler and more secure.

Saving credentials to a Temboo Profile

15Enter the file location and filename for your new file in the Path field. To create a text file in the root directory of your Dropbox account, try entering /test.txt for your Path.

16Now supply the FileContent of your text file. We'll just use "Hello world!".

At this point, your INPUT section should look something like this:

Required inputs to upload a file

17We need to tell Dropbox that our file content is plain text rather than Base64 encoded binary data. To do so, click on OPTIONAL INPUT at the bottom of the INPUT section to reveal more input fields. In the ContentType field, enter text/plain. You can leave the other fields blank.

Specifying the Content Type

18Click the Generate Code button at the bottom of the INPUT section to test the file upload from the Temboo site. You'll see some details about your uploaded file in the OUTPUT section. If you go to your folder in Dropbox, you'll see your file appear.

File metadata returned by the upload file process

Try It Out

19Dropbox won't allow you to upload a file if there's already a file with the location and filename specified in the Path input. Delete your test file in Dropbox so that you can run the same code again from your Python application.

20Scroll down to the CODE section of the Choreo page to find the generated code.

21Copy the code snippet and paste it into your TembooTest.py file.

22Now you're ready to run the script and see the output. Here's the command you need to run if you're executing this from the command line. Otherwise just run it from your IDE.

python TembooTest.py

23You should see the metadata for the new file you uploaded printed to the console. If you visit Dropbox, you'll find a new file uploaded from your Python application waiting for you

What next?

We're all finished! This Python application can create a text file out of any string you might produce while coding. You should try using it to save all sorts of different content, like the results generated by the 2000+ other Choreos in our Library.

Once you've got your code up and running, you're ready to move on and do more. From monitoring your running applications, to moving your generated Temboo code to your preferred development environment and sharing it with colleagues, collaborators and friends - we've got you covered.

Need help?

We're always happy to help. Just email us at support@temboo.com, and we'll answer your questions.


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