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?

Solution 1

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.

Solution 2

Follow these steps to make Dropbox start up each time.

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

Solution 3

In the terminal, type

dropbox autostart y

Solution 4

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.

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.

Solution 5

Try this command:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox

It ships in the autostart function.

View more solutions

Comments

[Admin]

Did you have some reason for preferring the CLI route? I installed Dropbox via the GUI route just the other day and have version 2.2.3. Dropbox starts automatically on logging in. I didn't have to do anything.

[Sam Copeland]

The download link at Dropbox links to version 1.6, which was not syncing consistently for me. The CLI route gave me a later version.

[Admin]

See these two links: 1 --- dropbox.com/download?dl=packages/ubuntu/dropbox_1.6.0_i386.d‌​eb and 2 --- dropbox.com/download?dl=packages/ubuntu/dropbox_1.6.0_amd64.‌​deb. It says 1.6.0 but the Dropbox version installed is 2.2.3 which I see when I hover on the little Dropbox icon in my panel.

[Sam Copeland]

I didn't. I kept the config files and just installed the deb directly. No problems. I just tested a restart, and it is working perfectly for me. Thanks.

[Sam Copeland]

I felt like an idiot for a moment :) but it seems that the option doesn't exist in preferences. My General tab only has boxes for Desktop notification and LAN sync. I feel like you are right that it was there previously, but it isn't now. My version is 2.0.26 if that helps.

[Sam Copeland]

I have done that. My problem is that the command described in my question does not seem to run from "Startup Applications" despite running fine in the terminal and via Alt+F2.

[TheLoneKing]

Open 'Startup Applications' click 'Add' and enter 'dropbox' in the 'Command' field and see if it works.

[Jay]

I've got version 2.0.22, but it seems very odd to remove that button.

[Sam Copeland]

I tried that. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.

[Sam Copeland]

As per the comments with vasa1, the CLI install seems to have been missing this option, but if you install the deb directly, you will get the option back.

[enedil]

It causes one time start, not autostart.

[Ayo]

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

[Erel Segal-Halevi]

This might cause the following problem: askubuntu.com/questions/411809/…

[Erel Segal-Halevi]

This might also run into the following bug: bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus-dropbox/+bug/1016‌​559

[Erel Segal-Halevi]

I tried this solution but it installed an old version of dropbox (1.4) which is not functioning correctly.

[MadMike]

@sijoune rejected edit, because your suggestion will create a new dropbox file in /usr/bin without execution rights.

[Veger]

This fixes the problem of autostarting dropbox for Kubuntu 15.04!

[ntg]

Needed to also do sudo apt-get install build-essential before dropbox, otherwise there is a failure...

[mbmast]

This is not working for me. When I start it from a command line (as described above) the icon appears on the task bar. I right click, go to preferences and select "Start dropbox on system startup" and click ok. I reboot the machine and it's not running.

[Léo Léopold Hertz 준영]

This works! This is also the default way to do this. I think this should be the accepted answer.

[Léo Léopold Hertz 준영]

This does not work if dropbox installed by the terminal command. Dropbox forgets the setting each time restarting.

[Léo Léopold Hertz 준영]

I think you will have a permission problem with such a setup. It is not working in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, although with permissions 755.

[Mitch]

@Masi Its working OK on 14.04.03. It's been working since the release of 14.04. You might have other issues.

[Léo Léopold Hertz 준영]

RHarris answer works in my setting.

[xcvbn]

@LéoLéopoldHertz준영 , indeed. For Dropbox to autostart without forgetting the setting, I ran nautilus-dropbox autostart y or caja-dropbox autostart y if you are using a Mate Desktop Environment

[Pavel]

dropbox autostart n worked for me (Ubuntu Gnome, Dropbox was installed from terminal)

[Corey Goldberg]

dropbox autostart -y

[Andrew]

This is set by default so it's unlikely to be a solution.

[Gemmu]

This also worked in Lubuntu 20.10 with minor adjustments. Selecting the checkbox from the Dropbox preferences doesn't work when the installation has been done in command line, as mentioned in other comments.

[Brian Borchers]

This worked for me, except that when I rebooted the machine remotely and logged in via ssh (something that has become routine during the pandemic...) it doesn't autostart. This shouldn't be a surprise since I'm not starting a gnome session when I ssh to the machine.

[Pablo Adames]

This simple GUI-oriented recipe works on Ubuntu 20.14LTS. However, I still wonder what an effective command line equivalent is. I had tried the dropbox autostart y option and it did not work for me.