Dropbox direct upload files from browser

Question

I am trying to upload files directly to dropbox [from a browser / web application], The "uploadFile" function on the code API needs the file to be uploaded available on the server, this puts me in trouble, because I do not want any files to be uploaded to my server and from there to dropbox.

$f = fopen("test.jpg", "rb"); // requires file on server
$result = $dbxClient->uploadFile("test.jpg", dbx\WriteMode::add(), $f);
fclose($f);

Tried out this https://github.com/dropbox/dropbox-js disappointed to say that there is no clear documentation, many of the links on the documentation part is broken.

I need the files to be uploaded to my account and the clients need not login to dropbox.

Any pointers would be really appreciated. looking for Ajax / JavaScript methods.

Update

I have tried the following, but no response from Dropbox

HTML

<input type="file" name="file" id="file" onchange="doUpload(event)">

JavaScript

var doUpload = function(event){

var input = event.target;
var reader = new FileReader();


  reader.onload = function(){
    var arrayBuffer = reader.result;

   $.ajax({  
    url: "https://api-content.dropbox.com/1/files_put/auto/uploads/" + input.files[0].name,  
    headers: {  
        Authorization: 'Bearer ' + MyAccessToken,  
        contentLength: file.size  
    },  
    crossDomain: true,  
    crossOrigin: true,  
    type: 'PUT',  
    contentType: input.files[0].type,  
    data: arrayBuffer,  
    dataType: 'json',  
    processData: false,
    success : function(result) {
        $('#uploadResults').html(result);
    }
    });
  }
 reader.readAsArrayBuffer(input.files[0]);
}

Answer 1

Dropbox just posted a blog with instructions on how to do this. You can find it at https://blogs.dropbox.com/developers/2016/03/how-formio-uses-dropbox-as-a-file-backend-for-javascript-apps/ (Full disclosure, I wrote the blog post.)

Here is how to upload a file.

/**
 * Two variables should already be set.
 * dropboxToken = OAuth token received then signing in with OAuth.
 * file = file object selected in the file widget.
 */

var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

xhr.upload.onprogress = function(evt) {
    var percentComplete = parseInt(100.0 * evt.loaded / evt.total);
    // Upload in progress. Do something here with the percent complete.
};

xhr.onload = function() {
    if (xhr.status === 200) {
        var fileInfo = JSON.parse(xhr.response);
        // Upload succeeded. Do something here with the file info.
    }
    else {
        var errorMessage = xhr.response || 'Unable to upload file';
        // Upload failed. Do something here with the error.
    }
};

xhr.open('POST', 'https://content.dropboxapi.com/2/files/upload');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Authorization', 'Bearer ' + dropboxToken);
xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/octet-stream');
xhr.setRequestHeader('Dropbox-API-Arg', JSON.stringify({
    path: '/' +  file.name,
    mode: 'add',
    autorename: true,
    mute: false
}));

xhr.send(file);

Then to download a file from dropbox do this.

var downloadFile = function(evt, file) {
  evt.preventDefault();
  var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xhr.responseType = 'arraybuffer';

  xhr.onload = function() {
    if (xhr.status === 200) {
      var blob = new Blob([xhr.response], {type: ’application/octet-stream’});
      FileSaver.saveAs(blob, file.name, true);
    }
    else {
      var errorMessage = xhr.response || 'Unable to download file';
      // Upload failed. Do something here with the error.
    }
  };

  xhr.open('POST', 'https://content.dropboxapi.com/2/files/download');
  xhr.setRequestHeader('Authorization', 'Bearer ' + dropboxToken);
  xhr.setRequestHeader('Dropbox-API-Arg', JSON.stringify({
    path: file.path_lower
  }));
  xhr.send();
}

FileSaver and Blob will not work on older browsers so you could add a workaround to them.

As other answers have noted, each session uploading or downloading the file will need to have access to a dropbox token. Sending someone else's token to a user is a security issue since having the token will give them complete control over the dropbox account. The only way to make this work is to have each person authenticate with Dropbox and get their own token.

At Form.io we've implemented both the authentication and the upload/download into our platform. This makes it really easy to build web apps with dropbox as a backend for files.

Answer 2

"I need the files to be uploaded to my account and the clients need not login to dropbox."

Then you'll really need to do the upload server-side. To do it client side would mean sending the access token to the browser, at which point any user of your app could use that access token to do whatever they wanted with your account. (E.g. delete all the other files, upload their private DVD collection, etc.)

For security reasons, I would strongly recommend doing the upload server-side where you can keep the access token a secret.