Connecting to Dropbox

Dropbox uses the OAuth authentication standard.

Dropbox OAuth Scopes

You need to choose between using CData's embedded OAuth app or Create a Custom OAuth App.

The embedded app includes the following scopes:

account_info.read
file_requests.read
files.content.read
files.content.write
files.metadata.read
sharing.read
sharing.write

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies OAuth desktop Authentication. Alternatively, you can create a custom OAuth application. See Create a Custom OAuth App for information about creating custom applications and reasons for doing so.

Get and Refresh the OAuth Access Token

After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
OAuthClientId (custom applications only): Set this to the client Id assigned when you registered your app.
OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): Set this to the client secret assigned when you registered your app.
CallbackURL (custom application only): Set this to the redirect URI defined when you registered your app. For example: http://localhost:33333

When you connect, the connector opens Dropbox's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The connector then completes the OAuth process:

The connector obtains an access token from Dropbox and uses it to request data.
The OAuth values are saved in the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation, to be persisted across connections.

The connector refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.

Web Applications

When connecting via a Web application, you need to register a custom OAuth app with Dropbox. You can then use the connector to get and manage the OAuth token values. See Create a Custom OAuth App for more information.

Get an OAuth Access Token

Set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuthAccessToken:

OAuthClientId: Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.

Then call stored procedures to complete the OAuth exchange:

Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Set the CallbackURL input to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings. The stored procedure returns the URL to the OAuth endpoint.
Navigate to the URL that the stored procedure returned in Step 1. Log in, and authorize the web application. After authenticating, the browser redirects you to the redirect URI. There will be a parameter called code appended to the redirect URI. Note the value of this parameter.
Call the GetOAuthAccessToken stored procedure. Set the AuthMode input to WEB. Set the Verifier input to the code parameter in the query string of the redirect URI.

After you have obtained the access and refresh tokens, you can connect to data and refresh the OAuth access token either automatically or manually.

Automatic Refresh of the OAuth Access Token

To have the connector automatically refresh the OAuth access token, set the following on the first data connection.

InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
OAuthClientId: Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthAccessToken: Set this to the access token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
OAuthRefreshToken: Set this to the refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken.
OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location where you want the connector to save the OAuth values, which persist across connections.

Manual Refresh of the OAuth Access Token

The only value needed to manually refresh the OAuth access token when connecting to data is the OAuth refresh token. Use the RefreshOAuthAccessToken stored procedure to manually refresh the OAuthAccessToken after the ExpiresIn parameter value returned by GetOAuthAccessToken has elapsed, then set the following connection properties:

OAuthClientId: Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.

Then call RefreshOAuthAccessToken with OAuthRefreshToken set to the OAuth refresh token returned by GetOAuthAccessToken. After the new tokens have been retrieved, open a new connection by setting the OAuthAccessToken property to the value returned by RefreshOAuthAccessToken.

Finally, store the OAuth refresh token so that you can use it to manually refresh the OAuth access token after it has expired.

Headless Machines

To configure the driver, use OAuth with a user account on a headless machine. You need to authenticate on another device that has an internet browser.

Choose one of two options:
- Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value as described in "Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code" below.
- Option 2: Install the connector on a machine with an internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.
Then configure the connector to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtain and Exchange a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL.

Follow the steps below to authenticate from the machine with an internet browser and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

Choose one of these options:
- If you are using the Embedded OAuth Application, call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.
- If you are using a custom OAuth application, set the following properties:
  - InitiateOAuth: Set to OFF.
  - OAuthClientId: Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
  - OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.
  Then call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure with the appropriate CallbackURL. Open the URL returned by the stored procedure in a browser.
Log in and grant permissions to the connector. You are then redirected to the redirect URI. There will be a parameter called code appended to the redirect URI. Note the value of this parameter. Later you will set this in the OAuthVerifier connection property.

Next, you need to exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens.

On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuth authentication values:

InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
OAuthVerifier: Set this to the noted verifier code (the value of the code parameter in the redirect URI).
OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to persist the encrypted OAuth authentication values to the specified location.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then re-set the following properties to connect:

InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the connector to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.

Option 2: Transfer OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you need to install and create a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described in "Desktop Applications" above.

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the location specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to connect to data:

InitiateOAuth: Set this to REFRESH.
OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the noted App key value from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the App secret from your OAuth app settings.
OAuthSettingsLocation: Set this to the location of the OAuth settings file you copied from the machine with the browser. Make sure this location gives read and write permissions to the connector to enable the automatic refreshing of the access token.

CData Python Connector for Avro

Connecting to Dropbox