sharing.md

Sharing workflows

dbxcli share-link manages Dropbox shared links for files, folders, and nested paths inside folder shared links.

Output contract

Text output is the default. With --output=json, shared-link commands use the standard JSON envelope with ok, schema_version, command, input, results, and warnings. Result statuses include created, existing, listed, found, updated, revoked, and downloaded. Result kinds use the link or target type, such as file, folder, or shared_link.

In text mode, share-link create prints only the shared-link URL to stdout. Status, warnings, diagnostics, and verbose logs go to stderr.

url="$(dbxcli share-link create /file.txt)"

For automation:

dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --output=json
dbxcli share-link list /file.txt --output=json

Create shared links

dbxcli share-link create /file.txt
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --access viewer
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --audience team
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --allow-download
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --disallow-download
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --expires 2026-07-01T00:00:00Z
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --password-prompt
dbxcli share-link create /file.txt --remove-expiration

share-link create creates a new shared link or returns the existing direct shared link for the path.

When share-link create returns an existing link, --remove-expiration removes the expiration from that existing link.

share-link create --access supports viewer, editor, and max. Dropbox does not support changing access for an existing shared link, so --access fails clearly if the link already exists.

share-link create --audience supports public, team, members, and no-one. Dropbox team and folder policies can still resolve the effective audience differently.

Inspect and list shared links

dbxcli share-link info <url>
dbxcli share-link info <url> --path nested/file.txt
dbxcli share-link list
dbxcli share-link list /file.txt

share-link list /file.txt lists direct shared links for that path, not parent-folder links.

Update shared links

dbxcli share-link update <url> --allow-download
dbxcli share-link update <url> --disallow-download
dbxcli share-link update <url> --audience public
dbxcli share-link update <url> --expires 2026-07-01T00:00:00Z
dbxcli share-link update <url> --remove-expiration
dbxcli share-link update <url> --password-prompt
dbxcli share-link update <url> --remove-password

Dropbox account, team, and folder policies can reject shared-link settings such as passwords, expiration, audience, or disabled downloads. In that case, dbxcli returns the Dropbox API error, for example settings_error/not_authorized/.

Revoke shared links

dbxcli share-link revoke <url>
dbxcli share-link revoke --path /file.txt

Revoking a file's direct shared link does not revoke links to parent folders that may still expose the file.

Download shared links

dbxcli share-link download <url> [target]
dbxcli share-link download <url> --path nested/file.txt
dbxcli share-link download <url> ./local.txt --path nested/file.txt
dbxcli share-link download <url> [target] --recursive

share-link download writes to the metadata filename when target is omitted. Use --path to download a single file inside a folder shared link. Use - as the target to write file bytes to stdout. Folder shared links require --recursive and cannot be written to stdout.

Password-protected links

share-link create, share-link update, share-link info, and share-link download support --password <value>, --password-prompt, and --password-file <path> for password-protected links. Use --password-prompt for interactive use so the password is not echoed.

Avoid --password <value> in shared shells because it may be saved in shell history. Prefer --password-prompt for interactive use or --password-file for automation.

Compatibility commands

Older sharing commands remain available for compatibility:

dbxcli share list link
dbxcli share list folder

Prefer share-link commands for shared-link workflows.