# Connecting Dropbox

Connect a Dropbox account to Wire and pick which folders flow into which containers. Add a file in Dropbox, it appears in the container. Change a file, the container picks up the new version. Delete a file, Wire cleans it up. Dropbox stays the source of truth; Wire mirrors the slice of it you want available to your agents.

## How it's organized

Wire splits the connection in two, the same way as every connector:

1. **Connector** is the authorization. Lives at the **organization** level. An owner or admin connects a Dropbox account once; anyone with permission can then attach folders from it to their containers.
2. **Source** is one folder (or the entire Dropbox) that flows into a specific container. One connected account can feed many containers, each with its own folder.

An organization can connect more than one Dropbox account. Each shows up as its own connector row, labeled with the account's email.

## Permissions

| Action | Who can do it |
|---|---|
| Connect / disconnect a Dropbox account at the org level | **Owner**, **Admin** |
| View the connectors list | All members |
| Attach a folder to a container | Anyone with **edit** access to that container |
| Detach a source / sync a source | Anyone with **edit** access to that container |

## Step 1. Connect at the org level

1. Open **Organization → Connectors** in the Wire dashboard.
2. Click **Add connector** and pick **Dropbox**.
3. Click **Continue to Dropbox**. You'll be sent to Dropbox to sign in (if you aren't already) and approve read access for Wire.
4. Approve, and you land back on the Connectors page with the account connected.

Wire asks Dropbox for read-only access: it can list and download files, and nothing else. Wire never modifies, moves, or deletes anything in the connected Dropbox.

Which account gets connected is decided by who is signed in to Dropbox in your browser. To connect a different account, use the account switcher on the Dropbox approval screen, or sign out of Dropbox first.

## Step 2. Attach a folder to a container

1. Open the container you want to feed.
2. Go to the **Sources** tab.
3. In the **Dropbox** row, click **Setup** (or **Edit** if you already have one attached).
4. Click **Add folder** and browse to the folder you want. You can attach the folder you're looking at from anywhere in the tree, or attach the entire Dropbox from the top level.
5. Click **Attach this folder**. Wire kicks off a backfill of everything in it, including subfolders.

The source row shows its state with a pill:

| Pill | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Pending** | Queued, backfill hasn't started yet |
| **Syncing** | Backfill is running, files are landing |
| **Synced** | Caught up with Dropbox |
| **Error** | Something went wrong, hover the row for details |

Files appear in the container's **Files** list as they finish processing.

## Keeping things in sync

After the initial backfill, Wire checks for changes on a regular cadence and pulls in anything new, updated, or removed. You don't have to do anything.

If you've just made a change in Dropbox and want it reflected immediately, hit **Sync now** on the source row.

### What a sync does

- New files in the folder get pulled in and processed
- Changed files replace the old version in the container (content changes are detected; renaming a file without changing its contents re-syncs it under the new name)
- Files deleted in Dropbox get removed from the container

Files in the container that didn't come from this source (uploads, agent writes, other connectors) are never touched.

### Dropbox Paper docs

Paper docs in an attached folder sync as Markdown, so their content is searchable and usable by agents like any other document.

## Detaching a source

Go back to the **Sources** tab, hit **Edit**, then the trash icon on the folder row. Wire archives the source, then cleans up every file it pulled from that folder out of the container, in the background. This includes entries, embeddings, and stored copies. **Your Dropbox is never touched.** Detaching only removes Wire's mirror.

## Disconnecting

At the org level (**Organization → Connectors → Disconnect**), disconnecting the account cascades through every container it fed, removing synced files in the background.

You can also revoke Wire from the Dropbox side (Dropbox **Settings → Connected apps**). Wire notices on the next sync and marks the connector as needing re-authorization; reconnecting from the Connectors page restores it, and attached sources resume where they left off.

## Limits and notes

- Individual Dropbox accounts (including individual accounts on Dropbox Business plans) are supported. Connecting as a team administrator on behalf of a whole team isn't available yet.
- A single attached folder syncs up to 100,000 entries per run. For very large trees, attach narrower subfolders as separate sources.
- Files above the platform's file size limit are skipped and counted in the sync summary.

## Privacy and security

- Wire's access is read-only, scoped by Dropbox itself to listing and downloading files.
- Authorization tokens are encrypted at rest with a key Wire never exposes to its own application code, and every read of them is logged.
- Wire only lists and fetches within the folders you explicitly attach.
- Revoking access from either side stops syncing immediately; nothing keeps working in the background.

## Troubleshooting

**The connector shows "needs re-authorization"**
Access was revoked on the Dropbox side, or the account's grant expired. Click **Connect** on the Connectors page and approve again; the same connector row is restored and sources resume.

**Backfill stuck in Pending or Syncing**
Hit **Sync now**. If it stays stuck, check the connector's status at the org level.

**A folder doesn't show everything I expect**
Shared folders appear only if they're added to the connected account's Dropbox. Files above the size limit are skipped. If a folder tree is larger than one sync run allows, attach subfolders separately.