Dropbox system requirements

Sections in this article:

The Dropbox desktop app for Windows computers

To find your system requirements, choose the app or website you'd like to use and your operating system from the list below.

If you’re using a Windows computer (not in S mode), and you want to run the Dropbox app, you need to use:

Note: The Dropbox desktop app doesn’t support ARM processors on Windows operating systems, except for on Windows in S mode.

The Dropbox desktop app for Mac computers

To run the Dropbox desktop app on your Mac you need:

The Dropbox mobile app for Android

To run the Dropbox mobile app on your Android device you need:

The Dropbox mobile app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

To run the Dropbox app on an an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch) you need:

The Dropbox app for Windows in S mode (Dropbox Lite)

To run Dropbox Lite on your device using Windows in S mode (the Universal Windows Platform) you need:

Note: Dropbox supports ARM processors for the above Windows in S mode versions. 

The Dropbox desktop app for Linux computers

Essential requirements for Linux

To run the Dropbox app on your computer using Linux you need:

  • Ubuntu 14.04 or later
  • Fedora 21 or later
  • Glibc 2.19 or later
  • The latest Dropbox app for Linux
  • A Dropbox folder on a hard drive or partition formatted with one the following file system types:
    • ext4
    • zfs (on 64-bit systems only)
    • eCryptFS (back by ext4)
    • xfs (on 64-bit systems only)
    • btrfs

Notes:

  • If your device doesn’t meet the operating system requirements, you may still be able to use the Dropbox desktop application, but results may vary. 
  • If you experience an issue and contact Dropbox support without the correct system requirements for Linux, you will be asked to use the correct system requirements.
  • Dropbox doesn’t support ARM processors for Linux.

The full Dropbox app on Linux

In addition, if you’d like to get the full Dropbox desktop app, you need to use:

  • A computer capable of running the required operating system, and one of the following desktop environments:
    • GNOME shell (may need the TopIcons extension to get the tray icon)
    • Unity
    • GNOME Classic
    • XFCE with the corresponding Nautilus dependencies
  • These additional requirements, when applicable:
    • GTK 2.24 or later
    • Glib 2.40 or later
    • Libappindicator 12.10 or later
    • Nautilus 3.10.1 or later

The headless Dropbox app on Linux

To run the Dropbox app “headless” (using the command line only), you only need the Dropbox app essential requirements. Then you can install the app and use the Linux Command Line Interface (CLI) to control the desktop app.

The Dropbox website at dropbox.com

You can transfer and download files from dropbox.com using most modern browsers. However, dropbox.com works best on the two most recent versions of:

IPv6 addressing

The Dropbox desktop app supports connecting on networks that utilize IPv6 addressing. 

Requirements:

  • An updated version of the Dropbox desktop app
  • A working DNS64/NAT64 gateway

Dropbox automatically detects the address protocol in use on the network. If your internal network uses IPv6 addresses, then the desktop application operates within this environment.

Dual-stack (or native dual-stack) IP implementation

With a dual-stack IP implementation where both IPv6 and IPv4 are available, Dropbox uses the IPv6 network by default. If IPv6 addresses are slow to resolve, the app defaults to IPv4.

Please note that LAN sync uses IPv4. If your network only supports IPv6, then you can’t use LAN sync.

Dropbox Paper on web and the Dropbox Paper mobile app

You can use Dropbox Paper on most modern browsers. However, they work best on the two most recent versions of:

Dropbox Paper mobile app

For iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch:

For Android phone:

The Dropbox Passwords desktop and mobile apps

Learn how to download and install Dropbox Passwords.

Dropbox Passwords mobile app

  • For an iPhone and iPad, you need iOS 13.1 or later.
    Note: The Dropbox Passwords mobile app is safe to use on iPad, but it’s not officially supported.

  • For Android, you need Android 8 (API level 26) or later.
        Note: The app is not supported on Chrome OS

Dropbox Passwords browser extension

  • Chrome 66 or later
  • Firefox 63 or later
  • Edge 79 or later
  • Safari 14 or later

To get the best experience, always keep your device updated with the latest version of the Dropbox app, and run it on a device with at least:

  • 1 GB of hard drive space
  • 2 GB of RAM
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