Ubuntu Unleashed

It's here! Dropbox for Linux is finally available and ready for your everyday use. Whats great about this service is you get 2 gb of space and it creates a folder in your home directory ~/Dropbox

I tested this and it works with Intrepid Ibex RC1, Just download the Ubuntu 8.04 Version or use its repository!

• Fedora Core 9 (x86_64)
• Fedora Core 9 (x86)
• Ubuntu 8.04 (x86_64)
• Ubuntu 8.04 (x86)
• Ubuntu 7.10 (x86_64)
• Ubuntu 7.10 (x86)
• Source

If your distribution is not listed above, or compatible with one listed above, download the source and read the readme file for instructions.

After installing the package you must restart Nautilus. You can do that by issuing the following command (note: if you're running compiz, doing so may lock up your computer - log out and log back in instead):

$ killall nautilus

Looking for the Windows or Mac version?

System Requirements:

Dropbox is supported on x86 and x86_64 versions of Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu 7.10, and Fedora Core 9. There have also been reports of users getting Dropbox to work on different versions of Gentoo, Arch Linux, OpenSUSE, and Debian. If you are having trouble getting Dropbox to run on your Linux system check if you have the following software dependencies installed:

• GTK 2.12 or higher
• GLib 2.14 or higher
• Nautilus 2.16 or higher
• Libnotify 0.4.4 or higher
• Wget 1.10 or higher

How does it work?

Currently Dropbox for Linux consists of two major components. dropboxd is a per-user closed-source daemon process that makes sure your $HOME/Dropbox directory is properly synchronized with your other computers and our secure backend. nautilus-dropbox is a GPL'd Nautilus plugin that connects to dropboxd (via a pair of Unix domain sockets) and presents a GUI based on the information dropboxd provides. You guessed right, GPL means nautilus-dropbox is open source, and it's free software!

There is nothing special about nautilus-dropbox. Indeed, any client process who follows the dropboxd protocol can implement a UI for Dropbox. The protocol is a very simple RPC-like UTF8 string based protocol. As of now there is no formal documentation on this protocol but you can always read the nautilus-dropbox source :) That's why it's open! Perhaps write your own command line interface, or a KDE interface.

Is there an Ubuntu repository?

Yes! We have an unauthenticated repository for Ubuntu 8.04 and 7.10. For Ubuntu 8.04, add the following lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list or equivalent:

deb http://www.getdropbox.com/static/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://www.getdropbox.com/static/ubuntu hardy main

For Ubuntu 7.10 you might want to add these lines instead:

deb http://www.getdropbox.com/static/ubuntu gutsy main
deb-src http://www.getdropbox.com/static/ubuntu gutsy main

Don't fret! In the future we will be authenticating our packages.

Having Issues?

Go to the forums. There are lots of GNU/Linux friends who can help you, including the Dropboxers. If that fails, try emailing linux@getdropbox.com.