How to connect the Dropbox remote MCP server

Updated Mar 18, 2026

In this article

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This article applies to customers in an open beta and is generally available. Betas are subject to additional terms. Learn more about Dropbox products in beta.

The Dropbox MCP remote server, now in beta, makes it easy to connect Dropbox directly within your favorite apps, so you can stay focused without switching tabs or interrupting your workflow.

 

Built on the open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard, this integration lets you securely access and use Dropbox inside LLM-based environments.

 

You can use the Dropbox MCP Server if you’re:

  • A developer who wants to browse or query Dropbox files inside your IDE (for example, Cursor).
  • An AI agent builder connecting Dropbox as a data source for retrieval, reasoning, or workflow automation.
  • A professional enhancing Dropbox workflows with AI assistants for document processing or content analysis.
  • Building writing tools that generate drafts, summaries, notes, or other new files based on Dropbox content.
  • Using MCP-compatible tools such as Cursor, Claude, or other LLM clients to browse, inspect, extract text from, or share Dropbox files.

Available tools

Tools Description
ListFolder
  • Browse directory contents (up to 100 items per call).
  • Get basic file info: name, size, modification date, file ID.
  • Navigate with pagination using cursors.
  • Handle paths with spaces and special characters.
GetFileMetadata
  • Get detailed file properties: size, dates, MIME type.
  • Works with either file paths or file IDs.  
  • Human-readable formatting (for example, "2.71 MB").
GetFileContent
  • Extract text from PDFs, Word documents, and other text representable files.
  • Support files up to 5 MB.
  • Content Links: Provides Dropbox links for all files (even when text extraction fails).
GetUsageAndQuota
  • Retrieve the current storage usage in units of bytes (total space used).
  • Retrieve the current storage quota in units of bytes (total space available).
  • Supports team users and individual users, for users that are on a team, the tool will retrieve the usage and quota for the entire team.
Search
  • Search files and folders by name or content.
  • Filter by folder, file type, or last updated date, and more.
  • Sort results by relevance or most recent changes.
  • Display more search results.
CreateFolder
  • Create a folder anywhere in Dropbox by specifying its path. 
  • The response includes folder details for easy chaining with later operations.
CreateFile
  • Create a new text-oriented file from inline UTF-8 content up to 5 MB.
  • Best suited for documents like notes, markdown, JSON, and source code.
CreateSharedLink
  • Create a Dropbox shared link for a file or folder, with the option to invite up to 25 viewers by email at the same time.

Supported MCP clients

Dropbox MCP server now supports Dynamic Client Registration for a trusted set of MCP Clients. More will be added soon. For now, here's the list of all supported MCP Clients:

 

Supported MCP Clients
Claude Code
Claude Web
Chat GPT
Cursor
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Notes: 

  • Request a particular MCP client to be supported by Dynamic Client Registration via Get Help.
  • No additional setup is needed before connecting to the MCP server.

How to connect to the Dropbox MCP remote server

Dropbox MCP server location: https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp

The setup steps vary depending on your MCP client.

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Important: If you change your Dropbox app settings, such as adding a new scope, you must reconnect to the Dropbox MCP server.

Connect with Cursor

To set up the connector

  1. In Cursor, click Settings, then Cursor Settings.
  2. Click Tools and MCP, then New MCP Server.
  3. Copy the configuration below:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Dropbox MCP": {
      "url": "https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp"
    }
   }
}

Connect with Claude Web/Desktop

Prerequisites

  • Access to the Claude Custom Connector (available on select Claude plans)

To set up the connector

  1. In Claude, click Settings, then Connectors.
  2. Click Add custom connector.
  3. Enter the following:
    • Name: Dropbox MCP
    • Dropbox MCP server URL: https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp
  4. Click Add.

Connect with Claude Code (CLI)

Prerequisites

  • Claude Code CLI installed

To set up the connector

claude mcp add --transport http DropboxMCP https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp

Connect with ChatGPT Web

Prerequisites

  • Access to ChatGPT Developer Mode (available on certain plans)

To enable Developer Mode

  1. In ChatGPT, click Settings, then Apps & Connectors.
  2. Click Advanced settings.
  3. Toggle Developer mode to ON.
  4. Review the prompt about unverified connectors, then click Confirm.

To set up the connector

  1. In ChatGPT, click Settings, then Apps.
  2. Click Create app.
  3. Enter the following:
    • Name: Dropbox MCP
    • MCP Server URL: https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp
    • Authentication: OAuth
  4. Check I understand and want to continue.
  5. Click Create.

Connect with ChatGPT Codex (CLI)

Prerequisites

To set up the connector

  1. Set the environment variable:

macOS / Linux

 

export DROPBOX_MCP_TOKEN="<your-access-token>"
Windows (PowerShell) 
setx DROPBOX_MCP_TOKEN "<your-access-token>"
2. Add the connector: 
codex mcp add dropbox-mcp \

--url https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp \

--bearer-token-env-var DROPBOX_MCP_TOKEN

3. Update the OAuth token:

Update the environment variable and restart Codex or your terminal:

macOS / Linux

export DROPBOX_MCP_TOKEN="<your-new-access-token>"
Windows 
setx DROPBOX_MCP_TOKEN "<your-new-access-token>"

Connecting from other MCP clients

Before connecting to the MCP server, you need a Dropbox app to obtain API credentials. Follow the Dropbox app setup instructions.

Dropbox app setup

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Note: Your Dropbox admin may control whether you can register or connect apps. If you don’t see the option to create an app or connect Dropbox to another service, contact your team admin. Learn more about admin controls for app integrations.

  1. Go to the Dropbox App Console.
  2. Click Create app.
  3. Configure your app:
    • API: Scoped access
    • Access type: Full Dropbox
    • App name: Choose a unique name
  4. Click Permissions, then enable:
    • files.metadata.read
    • files.content.read
    • files.content.write
    • sharing.write
  5. Add OAuth 2 Redirect URIs for your MCP Client:
    • Check their documentation for specific OAuth2 redirect URIs.
    • This is sometimes obtained during the setup flow of connecting to MCP servers.
  6. Collect your credentials:
    • Click Settings.
    • Click Generate access token.
    • Copy your Access token.
      • Note: The access token is short-lived, so you’ll need to regenerate it when it expires.
    • Copy the App key.
    • Copy the App secret.
  7. Customize your app in Branding with a name, icon, and description (Optional).

FAQs

How secure is the connection?

Dropbox MCP uses Dropbox OAuth for secure authentication. Your data stays protected under Dropbox’s existing privacy and security standards.

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