We are aware of the issue with the badge emails resending to everyone, we apologise for the inconvenience - learn more here.

Forum Discussion

lsteel11's avatar
lsteel11
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago

Long-term Access Token for using in Node Red

Hi, 

 

I am trying to sync data from a raspberry pi to a dropbox app, so that I can access the data remotely in real time (e.g. it updates every 10 mins). I created a flow in Node Red to do this, using the dropbox out node - and put in the access token from my dropbox app. This worked well, however, the access token expired after a few hours. From researching, I see that dropbox is now only generating short term access tokens. However, for my data collection I require long term access.

 

1. Would generating a refresh token solve this problem? 

2. If so, how do I generate a refresh token? I have  downloaded python and python SDK, and tried to follow the documentation, but I am confused and cannot get it to work. 

 

I would really appreciate any help on the above, or any other ideas you may have as to how to sync this data! 

 

Many thanks, 

Laura 

  • Greg-DB's avatar
    Greg-DB
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    1. Yes, using a refresh token is the right way to maintain long-term access without repeated manual interaction.

     

    2. You can find an example of using the Python SDK to process the app authorization flow to get a refresh token here. Once you have the refresh token, you can store and re-use it to make the Dropbox client object whenever you need, without processing the app authorization flow again. The SDK will use the refresh token to perform the refresh process for you automatically.

    • lsteel11's avatar
      lsteel11
      Explorer | Level 4

      Hi Greg, 

       

      Thank you so much for this! I have managed to successfully implement the code (using my App Key etc) as far as line 19. 

       

      When I run that next section, python just shuts down... any ideas? 

       

      Many thanks, 

      Laura 

    • lsteel11's avatar
      lsteel11
      Explorer | Level 4

      Hi Greg, 

       

      Thank you so much for this! I have managed to successfully implement the code (using my App key etc) up until line 19. 

       

      When I run this next section, python just shuts down ... any ideas? 

       

      Many thanks!

      Laura 

    • lsteel11's avatar
      lsteel11
      Explorer | Level 4

      Hi Greg, 

       

      Thank you so much for this! I have tried to reply a couple of times but dropbox keeps marking my response as spam and removing it!?

       

      I have successfully implemented the example code (using my app key etc) up until line 19. When I try to run this next section, python just shuts down ... any ideas? 

       

      Many thanks! 

About Dropbox API Support & Feedback

Node avatar for Dropbox API Support & Feedback

Find help with the Dropbox API from other developers.

5,877 PostsLatest Activity: 60 minutes ago
325 Following

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!