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What tool does Dropbox use to zip folders for download?
Summary: I’m trying to figure out how to create a usable zip file out of files that have non-ASCII filenames, so I’d like to find out what zip tool Dropbox uses when I download a folder from Dropbox...
Hi JedHartman, thanks for your patience on this matter.
Regarding your query, we've checked with our team and can provide the following information:
- Dropbox supports a subset of UTF-8 characters in filenames internally
- We set the EFS / 11th bit when zipping files with UTF-8 characters in their filename
- The zip is created on a Linux-based OS, which could come into play
- Files are zipped using zipfile from the Python standard library
I believe the last bullet point should help answer your main question.While it is possible to install Python on a personal machine, we can't be certain that it would have the same effect when using the zipfile program given the differences in how files are stored on Dropbox servers.
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey JedHartman - thanks for showing your interest in this.
We're trying to find this out for you internally with the team and see if this is a piece of information we can share.
We'll keep you posted anyhow, Jed.
Great—thank you!
Side note: I’ve seen info pages elsewhere that talk about setting bit 11 (the “EFS flag”) of a zip file to indicate a UTF-8 character encoding, but I don’t know whether that’s what Dropbox does.
(In case you’re curious, this is all for the Hugo Awards Voter Packet. Dropbox is an important part of an earlier stage of the process of creating the Packet, which is how we found out that it does exactly what we need when it zips a folder for download.)
- Jay
Hi JedHartman, thanks for your patience on this matter.
Regarding your query, we've checked with our team and can provide the following information:
- Dropbox supports a subset of UTF-8 characters in filenames internally
- We set the EFS / 11th bit when zipping files with UTF-8 characters in their filename
- The zip is created on a Linux-based OS, which could come into play
- Files are zipped using zipfile from the Python standard library
I believe the last bullet point should help answer your main question.While it is possible to install Python on a personal machine, we can't be certain that it would have the same effect when using the zipfile program given the differences in how files are stored on Dropbox servers.
