Start Dropbox on Startup

Question

I installed Dropbox (2.0.26) via the command line instructions here.

Dropbox is running great except that it won't start on startup. The command given, ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd, runs fine via the terminal or Alt+F2, but it isn't working in Startup Programs.

I'm probably missing something obvious regarding the syntax for a startup program command. Any suggestions?

score 27 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 07 '14 at 21:24

Follow these steps to make Dropbox start up each time.

Click on the Ubuntu "Dash" icon
Type Startup Applications in the Dash search area
Click on the "Startup Applications" ico
Click "Add" button
For "Name:", type Dropbox
For "Command:", type /home/{your-username}/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
For "Comment:", this can be left blank
Click "Add" button
Click "Close" button
Restart your computer

score 21 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 01 '13 at 14:32

21

Click on the dropbox icon on the top of your screen, hit "preferences" and tick the button where it says "Start dropbox on system startup" in the "general" tab.

answered Jul 01 '13 at 14:32

Gx1sptDTDa

1,663
1
15
24

score 8 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 22 '14 at 02:16

First you have to create a dropbox.desktop file, with the following contents:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Dropbox
GenericName=File Synchronizer
Comment=Sync your files across computers and to the web
Exec=dropbox start -i
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=dropbox
Categories=Network;FileTransfer;
StartupNotify=false

Once its created, you need to move it to ~/.config/autostart folder, reboot, and that's it.

enter image description here

Remark: if dropbox was installed from the command line, the line "Exec=dropbox start -i" doesn't work, it needs to be replaced by "Exec=/home/username/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd" where /home/username is your home directory.

score 8 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 20 '13 at 07:43

8

In the terminal, type

dropbox autostart y

answered Dec 20 '13 at 07:43

Dennis

413

score 5 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 25 '14 at 09:43

5

Try this command:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox

It ships in the autostart function.

edited Mar 25 '14 at 09:43

Radu Rădeanu

174,089
51
332
407

answered Mar 25 '14 at 09:24

tseboho

59

score 2 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 08 '14 at 15:29

I tried all the other methods: Only this method as stated by previous user has worked for me:

Run:

cd /usr/bin

Then rename executable with this command:

sudo mv dropbox dropbox1

Then create a new file called dropbox using command:

sudo gedit dropbox

Then write this:

#!/bin/bash
~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd

Save and exit, change premission:

sudo chmod 0755 dropbox

then restart the computer.

OR

Create a startup application with name say "Dropbox2" and write this line in it.

sh -c  ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd

Save and exit, then restart the computer.

One of the 2 work properly.

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 01 '13 at 14:48

1

To add any program on startup, go to 'Dash Home' and choose 'Startup Applications'. There you can add any program that wish to run on startup.

answered Jul 01 '13 at 14:48

TheLoneKing

1,425

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 18 '14 at 08:53

1

Create a startup application with name say "dropBOX" and write this line in it.

sh -c  ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd

Save and exit, then restart the computer.

answered Apr 18 '14 at 08:53

amarVashishth

111

score 1 · Answer 9 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

This is the only way (and incidentally, the easiest way) I could get this to work on 14.04 without a buggy install or doing a .desktop file (which I couldn't get to work). I had to install the .deb using these instructions:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 5044912E

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://linux.dropbox.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main"

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install dropbox

Then you should get a prompt to install Dropbox from the GUI (if you don't, search in your Applications for it and run by clicking the icon). Once Dropbox is installed and you're logged in, the preferences should default to autostart, but in case they don't, you can right-click on the Dropbox icon, go to "Preferences", and check "Start Dropbox on System Startup"

Got the instructions from this answer (which seems to have been lost in the annals of the forum for some reason): Running Dropbox at startup

Ayo · Answer 10 · 2014-08-27T06:06:41.820

0

sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox
dropbox start

after you install the nautilus-dropbox you will find dropbox on the startup applications list and check it. :)

edited Aug 27 '14 at 06:06

answered Aug 25 '14 at 20:07

Ayo

11

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Jun 05 '15 at 08:31

you need to connect it to your account... If you have no gui, you can do it by running the server (after installation), try

dropbox start
dropbox status

if it is not running, try running the demon directly, and it will give you a link to enter from another computer to verify password, e.g.:

~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
This computer isn't linked to any Dropbox account...
Please visit https://www.dropbox.com/cli_link_nonce?nonce=adfalhwelkjfhlasdk to link this device

Start Dropbox on Startup

11 Answers11

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