In this guide

Search Files and Folders

Find Dropbox files by name or content.

Action referenceRead

What this action does #

First, connect Dropbox in Services. Then open Actions → + → Dropbox and choose Search Files and Folders.

More about this action

Search indexing can lag behind changes. Dropbox returns up to 10,000 matches, and may return duplicates across pages. Metadata is inside each match's metadata.metadata field.

Inputs to fill in #

Open an input to choose its value. Keep a fixed value with Text, receive it from Shortcuts, ask when the action runs, or use an Earlier Step. Read how input sources work.

Search

RequiredText

Supply a text value for this input.

Example value (replace with your own):

report

Folder path

OptionalText

Supply a text value for this input.

This input offers a picker for folder from your connected account. You can also supply its value directly.

Example value (replace with your own):

/Homework

File categories

OptionalList

Supply a list value for this input.

A list of choice values. Use a comma-separated list.

Choices: image, document, pdf, spreadsheet, presentation, audio, video, folder, paper, others

Search names only

OptionalOn or off

Supply a on or off value for this input.

Default: false

Page size

OptionalWhole number

Supply a whole number value for this input.

Example value (replace with your own):

What comes back #

In the action editor, open Output → Returned Value to choose fields for your shortcut. These are the response fields described by the app; a service may omit an optional field or return an empty list. JSON File contains the full response.

Returned field	Type	Meaning
`matches`	array	A list of values.
`matches[].metadata`	object	A group of named values.
`matches[].metadata.metadata`	object	A group of named values.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.name`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.id`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.path_display`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.path_lower`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.size`	integer	File size in bytes; absent for folders.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.rev`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.server_modified`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.client_modified`	string	Text value.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.is_downloadable`	boolean	True or false.
`matches[].metadata.metadata.content_hash`	string	Text value.
`cursor`	string	Text value.
`has_more`	boolean	True or false.

Run it from Shortcuts #

Give the action a recognizable name and tap Save.
In Apple Shortcuts, add Shortcutify’s Execute Action and select the saved action.
Supply any Param or File slots you bound in the inputs, then run the shortcut.

If the result is unexpected, open Logs in Shortcutify, select the run, and inspect this step’s inputs and response.

This action supports multiple pages of results. Open its Fetch setting to retrieve more pages when one page is not enough. Each page adds a service request.

Advanced reference #

Request, permissions, and identifiers

Request: POST https://api.dropboxapi.com/2/files/search_v2

Action identifier: dropbox.search.v1

Permissions declared for this action: files.metadata.read. The account’s own access rules also apply.

Input	Request key	Location
Search	`query`	body
Folder path	`options.path`	body
File categories	`options.file_categories`	body
Search names only	`options.filename_only`	body
Page size	`options.max_results`	body

Dropbox API reference