Installing Dropbox client on Linux

Summary

Installing the Dropbox client on Linux

Environment

• Linux:
  • NOT RHEL 7 or earlier
  • RHEL 8
  • Fedora 34 and higher (older versions will work, but they are now unsupported)
  • Ubuntu 
  • Others TBD
  • For unsupported versions, such as RHEL 7, see this article on installing the Flatpak version.
• Dropbox at U-M

Directions

1. First, activate your U-M account, if you have not already done so. Technically, this is not part of installing the client, but you will need to have an activated account for Dropbox to work. 
2. Go to the Dropbox installation page and follow the instructions for a headless install. In most cases, you will be installing on a 64-bit device, so use that command. This installation goes into your home directory, so you will not need elevated privileges.
3. Link to your U-M account when prompted. Additional help with this step is in this article.
4.  After linking successfully, you should have the folder Dropbox (University of Michigan) in your home directory.

CLI Install For Ubuntu (admin required)

1. In terminal, type sudo apt install nautilus-dropbox
2. start dropbox with the command: dropbox start
3. See dropbox commands here: https://help.dropbox.com/installs/linux-commands

External resources

• Getting Started with Dropbox at U-M
• Linking a computer to Dropbox at U-M account