Integration Package: Dropbox

Introduction

This integration allows you to snapshot and restore Dropbox data using Plakar, storing it in a Kloset store while minimizing storage usage and ensuring strong data security. It includes a Storage Connector that lets you persist snapshots to Dropbox itself, either from Dropbox or other sources. A Viewer is also provided to inspect, search, and restore snapshots without requiring full extraction.

Use cases:

Cold backup of Dropbox folders
Long-term archiving and disaster recovery
Portable export and vendor migration to other platforms

Target technologies:

Supported versions: All Dropbox accounts supported by Rclone
Supported editions: Personal and Business Dropbox
System compatibility: macOS, Linux, Windows via Rclone

Requirements:

Plakar version: >=1.0.3
Integration version: 0.1.0
Dropbox API credentials configured in Rclone

Architecture

                                Viewer (CLI/UI)
                                  ↑
Dropbox ← Source Connector → Kloset Store ←→ Storage Connector → Dropbox
                                  ↓
                   Dropbox ← Destination Connector → Other compatible resources

Components provided:

Source Connector: extract data from Dropbox
Destination Connector: restore snapshots to Dropbox
Storage Connector: persist snapshots inside Dropbox as the backend
Viewer: browse and search snapshots in UI/CLI

Installation

Prerequisites

This integration is distributed as an Rclone-powered connector. You only need Plakar and Rclone installed.

Install Rclone: https://rclone.org/install/ Configure your Dropbox remote: https://rclone.org/dropbox/

1rclone config

Afterwards, you can install it in a few seconds using Plakar’s built-in tooling.

Install the package:

Run the following command to install the integration:

1plakar pkg add rclone

This will generate a portable .ptar archive and install it in your Plakar environment.

Verify installation:

Check that the integration appears in your available connectors:

1plakar pkg

You should now see the rclone.

Setup Dropbox with Rclone

This integration provides three types of connectors to interact with your {resource type}:

Source Connector to extract data from the resource
Destination Connector to restore data into the resource
Storage Connector to persist snapshots inside the resource itself, turning it into a Kloset backend

The configuration is done using plakar config commands. Each parameter is set explicitly and separately.

Depending on the type of usage, you can configure Dropbox as a source, destination, or storage connector.

Once Rclone is configured, import it into Plakar.

Source Connector

To import your rclone config as a source connector (to make backups), run:

1rclone config show | plakar source import mydropbox

Destination Connector

To import your rclone config as a destination connector (to restore backups), run:

1rclone config show | plakar destination import mydropbox

Storage Connector

To import your rclone config as a storage connector (to store backups in Dropbox), run:

1rclone config show | plakar store import mydropbox

Replace mydropbox with your Rclone remote name.

Usage

For the following examples, we will use @mydropbox as the Rclone remote name configured in Plakar.

First, to be able to backup and restore, you need to create a Kloset store to hold your snapshots:

1plakar at ./save create

A folder named save will be created in the current directory, which will hold the snapshots.

Backup a Snapshot

To back up your Dropbox data in the newly created Kloset store, use the following command:

1plakar at ./save backup @mydropbox

The last line of the output will show the snapshot ID, which you can use to inspect or restore later.

Restore a Snapshot

To restore a snapshot back to Dropbox, use the following command:

1plakar at ./save restore -to @mydropbox <snapshot-id>

This will restore the snapshot to your Dropbox account, making it available in the same structure as it was when backed up.

Kloset Creation

To use Dropbox as storage, you have to create a Kloset store that uses the Dropbox remote.

1plakar at @mydropbox create

This will create a Kloset store in your Dropbox cloud. It will be used like any other Kloset store.

Kloset Inspection

Test your Kloset store is functional.

List available snapshots with:

1plakar at @mystore ls

Inspect file content without full restore:

1plakar at @mystore cat <snapshot-id>:/path/to/file

Launch the UI viewer:

1plakar at @mystore ui

Integration-specific behaviors

Limitations

Dropbox API has rate limits; heavy usage may require throttling
Only the latest version of files is snapshotted
Shared links and permissions are not preserved in snapshots

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Dropbox integration