---
title: "Connecting Dropbox"
url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/connecting-dropbox
category: "Cloud accounts"
tags: ["cloud accounts", "dropbox", "sign in"]
summary: "Add a Dropbox account by signing in through your own browser. Storage Studio never sees your Dropbox password, and each Dropbox account you add stays signed in on its own."
updated: 2026-10-01T05:31:57.000Z
---

# Connecting Dropbox

Add a Dropbox account by signing in through your own browser. Storage Studio never sees your Dropbox password, and each Dropbox account you add stays signed in on its own.

To connect Dropbox, open **Remotes & Accounts**, click **Add Account**, choose **Dropbox**, give it a nickname and click **Open browser to sign in**. You sign in and allow access on Dropbox's own page in your usual browser; Storage Studio keeps only the permission Dropbox gives it, never your password.

## Step by step

1. Choose **Connect Accounts…** from the **More** menu, then click **Add Account**.
2. Select **Dropbox**.
3. Type a **Nickname**, such as *dropbox-personal*. Each account needs its own nickname.
4. Click **Open browser to sign in**. The sheet changes to **Sign in in your browser**.
5. In the browser, sign in to the Dropbox account you want and allow access.
6. The browser shows **You're connected**. Close the tab; the sheet finishes by itself and shows **Account added**.

```mermaid
%% caption: Adding a Dropbox account, and what to do if the browser uses the wrong one
flowchart TD
  A[Open browser to sign in] --> B{Is the browser already signed in to Dropbox?}
  B -->|No| C[Sign in to the account you want]
  B -->|Yes, the right account| D[Allow access]
  B -->|Yes, the wrong account| E[Sign out of Dropbox in the browser, then Try Again]
  C --> D
  D --> F[You're connected]
  F --> G[Account added]
```

*Flowchart — Adding a Dropbox account, and what to do if the browser uses the wrong one. Outline:*

- Open browser to sign in
  - leads to Is the browser already signed in to Dropbox?
- Is the browser already signed in to Dropbox?
  - No: leads to Sign in to the account you want
  - Yes, the right account: leads to Allow access
  - Yes, the wrong account: leads to Sign out of Dropbox in the browser, then Try Again
- Sign in to the account you want
  - leads to Allow access
- Allow access
  - leads to You're connected
- You're connected
  - leads to Account added

## Adding a second Dropbox account

Dropbox may go straight to the account your browser is already signed in to. To add a different one, sign out of Dropbox in your browser first, or use **Try Again** after signing out. The waiting screen reminds you of this: *if the browser picks an account on its own, sign out there first to choose a different one.*

You can connect up to 5 Dropbox accounts. The **Add Account** list shows how many you've used, for example **1 / 5**.

## What you can do with it

Once it's added, your Dropbox appears wherever Storage Studio asks you to choose a place:

- copy, move or sync folders with [Data Transfers](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-transfers);
- browse it next to your other accounts in [the Storage Studio location in Finder](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-storage-studio-location-in-finder);
- send backups to it — see [where a backup can go](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/backup-destinations);
- check it for [duplicates](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/duplicates-in-cloud-accounts).

This is separate from the Dropbox app you may already have on your Mac. Storage Studio talks to your Dropbox account directly, so it works whether or not the Dropbox app is installed.

## If it doesn't work

- **Sign-in timed out after 5 minutes** — the browser didn't come back in time. Click **Try Again**.
- **Could not add account** — the sheet shows what went wrong. Click **Try Again**, or **Close** and start again.
- **You closed the browser tab before allowing access** — click **Cancel**, then add the account again with **Add Account**.

To check later that the account still works, use **Test connection** — see [testing, editing and removing an account](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/testing-editing-and-removing-an-account).

- **Can I see all my cloud accounts in Finder on a Mac?** Yes. Storage Studio adds a "Storage Studio" location to Finder's sidebar, with each connected cloud account and paired device as a folder inside, and a Finder button in the app's main window opens it. Files stay in the cloud until you open them. Folders you have visited open straight away and… (https://storagestudio.us/faq)

See also: [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts) · [When an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again) · [How your account sign-ins are stored](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/how-account-sign-ins-are-stored)

## What links here

- [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts)
- [Google Photos: what's possible and the Takeout route](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/google-photos)