How to connect the remote Dropbox MCP server

Updated Nov 21, 2025

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.
Using MCP-compatible tools (such as Cursor, Claude, or LLM client) to browse, inspect, or extract text from 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

Before you begin

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

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.

Create a Dropbox app

Go to the Dropbox App Console.
Click Create app.
Configure your app:
- API: Scoped access
- Access type: Full Dropbox
- App name: Choose a unique name
Click Permissions and enable:
- files.metadata.read
- files.content.read
Add OAuth 2 Redirect URIs for your MCP Client:
- Claude: https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback and https://claude.com/api/mcp/auth_callback
- ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/connector_platform_oauth_redirect
- Other clients: Check their documentation for specific OAuth2 redirect URIs.
Collect your credentials:
- Click Settings.
- Click “Generate access token”.
- Copy your Access token (This is short-lived, regenerate one when it expires).
- Copy the App key.
- Copy the App secret.
Customize your app in Branding with a name, icon, and description (Optional).

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.

Connect with Cursor

Prerequisites

Access token from your Dropbox app setup

To set up the connector

Copy your Access token.
In Cursor, go to Settings → Cursor Settings → Tools and MCP from the left-hand panel.
Click New MCP Server and add the configuration below:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Dropbox MCP": {
      "url": "https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp"
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-access-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Connect with Claude

Prerequisites

App key and App secret from your Dropbox app setup
Access to the Claude Connector (available on select Claude plans)

To set up the connector

Copy your App key and App secret.
In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
Enter the following:
- Name: Dropbox MCP
- Remote MCP server URL: https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp
Click Advanced settings.
- OAuth Client ID: Enter the App key.
- OAuth Client Secret: Enter the App secret.
Click Add.

Connect with ChatGPT

Prerequisites

App key and App secret from your Dropbox app setup
Access to ChatGPT Developer Mode (available on certain plans)

To enable Developer Mode

In ChatGPT, go to Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced settings.
Toggle Developer mode to ON.
Confirm the following warning message about unverified connectors:

Allows you to add unverified connectors that could modify or erase data permanently.

To set up the connector

Copy your App key and App secret.
In ChatGPT, go to Settings → Apps & Connectors → Create.
Enter the following:
- Name: Dropbox MCP
- MCP Server URL: https://mcp.dropbox.com/mcp
- Authentication: OAuth
Paste your App key into OAuth Client ID.
Paste your App secret into OAuth Client Secret.
Check I understand and want to continue.
Click Create.

Currently unsupported

OAuth Dynamic Client Registration: Currently, Dropbox does not support Dynamic Client Registration, requiring users to create a Dropbox app and manually copying the App key and App secret. Registration currently requires users to create a Dropbox app and manually copy the App key and App secret. This process may change in the future to simplify setup.