Install Dropbox on Ubuntu 20.04 - Step by step process ?

Most computer users don't know about Dropbox and its use, for those people, Dropbox is a very useful file synchronization and sharing service that allows you to synchronize files between different computer systems over the network for free. 

It offers various services such as cloud storage, personal cloud, and client software. So that it's very beneficial for creating the backing up of your important documents, MP3 files, pictures, video files, and many other types of data. 

When a user creates a free Dropbox account, a 2GB free space is allocated for storing data. 

If you need to get more additional space then, you can buy the pro-Dropbox version. Dropbox client applications are supported on all operating platforms like Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, etc), Windows, and MacOS.

Here at LinuxAPT, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to perform Packages Installation tasks on Ubuntu Linux Servers.

In this context, we shall look into how to install and Configure Dropbox on the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system through running terminal commands.

How to install Dropbox on Ubuntu 20.04 from the official repository ?

Before performing this installation procedure, ensure that you execute all commands with sudo or root privileges.

Follow the steps given below.

1. Create a source list file

Open the terminal application by pressing 'Ctrl + Alt + t' and create a source list file for Dropbox by typing the following command on the terminal. 

Nano command is used for a command-line nano text editor, that permits you to edit all source code as well as text files in the terminal:

$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dropbox.list

Now, add the following text in the 'dropbox.list' file and press 'Ctrl + O' to save this text.

deb [arch=i386,amd64] http://linux.dropbox.com/ubuntu bionic main

Press enter for confirmation and then, press 'Ctrl + X' to exit from the current window.

2. Import Dropbox GPG key

Next, by using the following command import Dropbox GPG key to your system Ubuntu 20.04:

$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 1C61A2656FB57B7E4DE0F4C1FC918B335044912E

3. Install Dropbox

Now, update the all packages index and then, install Dropbox on your Ubuntu system:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install python3-gpg dropbox

Here, the python3-gpg package is used with Dropbox to check the binary signature. It is important to note that the Dropbox package is not the actual binary Dropbox. 

It's just a supportive package.

4. Start GUI Dropbox installer 

Now, execute the following command to start the GUI installer of Dropbox through the terminal. 

i. The -i tag represents if Dropbox is not already installed then, install this service:

$ dropbox start -i

ii. You can also start the GUI Dropbox installer from the application search bar.

iii. Click on the 'OK' button to install the Dropbox daemon.

After that, Dropbox will download and install on your system.

Once the Dropbox daemon is installed, a new window tab will appear in your browser prompting you to link your computer machine to your online Dropbox account.

You can also verify the Dropbox installation from the Desktop icon that displays at the top right side of your desktop after the installation.

Now, Dropbox is installed on your system. Upload your system's data and enjoy the benefits of allocated Dropbox space.

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