Dropbox | Alephant Documentation

What it indexes

The Dropbox connector starts at the root visible to its access token and recursively indexes downloadable files in every visible subfolder. A file becomes one searchable document; folders organize traversal but are not indexed as documents.

Scope behavior	Indexing effect
Root	The connector always starts at the token-visible root. The Admin form has no folder, prefix, include, or exclude field.
Subfolders	Every visible subfolder is traversed recursively.
Files	Non-downloadable entries are excluded by the Dropbox listing request. A download failure is not caught per file and can stop the current traversal or indexing attempt. Only extraction or decoding failures are caught for that file and skipped.
Links	OpenCore first lists existing shared links. If that succeeds and none exists, it tries to create one. An API error while listing or creating shared links produces an empty source link; after a failed list call, the connector does not try to create one.

Prerequisites

Create a Dropbox app or token through your organization’s approved process.
Limit the token’s Dropbox visibility to content that every intended OpenCore audience may index; the connector provides no narrower folder selector.
Allow the token to list and download files and to list shared links; when that succeeds and none exists, it must also be able to create one.
Allow connector workers to reach the Dropbox API over HTTPS.

Credentials

Method	OpenCore credential value	Notes
Dropbox access token	`dropbox_access_token: <DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN>`	The Admin UI labels this value Dropbox API Key. Store only a placeholder in documentation and keep the real token in OpenCore’s credential store.

The Dropbox indexing connector does not offer an OAuth flow in the current Admin UI. Rotate the access token through your normal Dropbox app process.

Configure in OpenCore

In the Admin panel, open Connectors, select Dropbox, and create the Dropbox token credential.
Review what the token can see. There is no connector-level folder, prefix, or file-name filter.
Choose Private and assign OpenCore user groups for restricted content. Use Public only when every OpenCore account may search every file visible to the token.
Set refresh and cleanup options, create the connector, and run the first indexing attempt.
Review indexed files before attaching the resulting document set to an Agent.

Permissions

Dropbox source permissions are not synchronized. The token controls what OpenCore can ingest, but Dropbox sharing and per-file viewer lists are not copied into OpenCore.

Consequently, any OpenCore user who can access this connector or its document set can search every successfully indexed file, even when that user cannot open the file in Dropbox. Split sensitive areas across separately scoped Dropbox credentials or apps, and enforce access with OpenCore Private groups. A shared source link can also expose content according to its Dropbox link settings, so review the app’s sharing policy before indexing.

Verify

Validate the credential and confirm the connector can list the token-visible root.
Run an indexing attempt and search for text from one root file and one nested file.
Confirm a non-downloadable or deliberately inaccessible file is absent.
Open a source link from a search result. If no link is present, check whether the token can list shared links and, when the list is empty, create one.
Test search access with every OpenCore group assigned to the connector; Dropbox ACLs will not provide a second authorization check.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
Credential validation reports an invalid token	Replace an expired or revoked token and confirm it belongs to the intended Dropbox app.
Validation reports insufficient permissions	Grant the token the capabilities needed to list the root and download files.
A folder is missing	Confirm it is visible from the token’s root. The connector cannot target an arbitrary folder outside that visibility boundary.
A file is missing or the indexing attempt stops	A download failure can stop the current traversal because it is outside the per-file error handler. Extraction or decoding failures are logged and skip only that file.
Search result has no Dropbox link	Permit the app to list shared links and, when the list succeeds but is empty, to create one. An API error in either operation returns an empty link; a failed list call does not fall through to creation.
Users can search files they cannot open in Dropbox	This is expected because source ACLs are not synchronized. Restrict the connector with OpenCore groups or split the source into narrower credentials.