Download File

dropbox.download_file

ActionFiles & storageconnection required

Calls the Dropbox API with the connection's credentials.

Download a file's content and emit it as the shared base64 file envelope, ready to hand to a storage, mail or upload node.

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Connection

Required: Yes — the node will not save without one
Auth type: Bearer token
Providers: Dropbox
Secret shape: the Dropbox access token
Resolved by: config.connection_id, else node.connection_id

Configuration

1 field, 1 required. A dotted path is a nested object and name[] an array of objects — the editor renders the same tree.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Constraints	Example
path The absolute path of the item, starting with a slash — or a Dropbox 'id:…' / 'rev:…' reference.	string	Yes	—	—	/Reports/2026/q1.csv

Example configuration

Every value below is the contract’s own example or default — nothing invented.

{
  "path": "/Reports/2026/q1.csv"
}

Output

One shape.

result

Field	Type	Example
file_content The file, base64-encoded.	string	—
content_encoding	string	base64
filename	string	app-main.zip
content_type	string	application/zip
size Raw size in bytes (before base64).	number	—
id The Dropbox id of the downloaded file.	string	—
rev The revision that was downloaded.	string	—
path_display The path the file was read from.	string	—

{
  "content_encoding": "base64",
  "content_type": "application/zip",
  "file_content": "",
  "filename": "app-main.zip",
  "id": "",
  "path_display": "",
  "rev": "",
  "size": 0
}

Notes

Paths are absolute and start with a slash ('/Reports/2026/q1.csv'); the account root is the empty string. A Dropbox file id ('id:…') or revision ('rev:…') may be used anywhere a path is asked for.
Uploads and downloads use content.dropboxapi.com and everything else uses api.dropboxapi.com; the nodes pick the right host for you.
The connection's access token must carry the scope the call needs — files.content.write to upload, move, delete or restore, files.content.read to download, files.metadata.read to list, search or read metadata, sharing.read to list shared links, sharing.write to create or revoke one, and account_info.read for space usage.
The file is held in memory and capped by MANTLE_BINARY_MAX_BYTES; a larger file fails the step instead of exhausting the worker.
Cloud-native documents (Google Docs and the like) cannot be downloaded this way — Dropbox answers 'unsupported_file' and asks for an export instead.

Related Dropbox nodes

See Download File run in a workflow.

In a technical demo we add the Dropbox connection, drop the node on the canvas and let Workflow Health pre-flight it before the first real run.

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