"Your Dropbox folder is on a file system that is no longer supported"

TLDR: Overcome common permissions errors and missing graphical library issues when installing Dropbox on Fedora's immutable desktops (Kinoite/Silverblue) by running it inside a Distrobox container.

Failed Attempts Summary – Dropbox Installation

Flatpak attempt Initial install as a Flatpak. > running ok until "sign in" then Your Dropbox folder is on a file system that is no longer supported
Flatseal attempt Changed the file sharing settings under the Filesytem section. See https://universal-blue.discourse.group/t/your-dropbox-folder-is-on-a-file-system-that-is-no-longer-supported-solved/1112
OSTree / rpm-ostree attempt Tried to install Dropbox globally via OSTree, python3-gpg was required too. Was running ok until "sign in" then Your Dropbox folder is on a file system that is no longer supported
Install Dropbox using Distrobox

Step 1: Install Distrobox on your Host System

First, you need to install Distrobox.

Open a terminal on your host system.
Install Distrobox:
```
sudo rpm-ostree install distrobox
```
Reboot your system for the changes to take effect:
```
reboot
```

Step 2: Create and Configure the Dropbox Container

Next, you'll create a Distrobox container specifically for Dropbox. Distrobox will by default mount your host user's home directory into the container, allowing seamless access to your ~/Dropbox folder.

Open a terminal on your host system.
Create the container. We'll name it dropbox-container and use the latest Fedora image:
```
distrobox create --name dropbox-container --image fedora:latest
```
Enter the newly created container:
```
distrobox enter dropbox-container
```
You are now inside the container, where you'll install Dropbox.

Step 3: Install Dropbox within the Container

Now, install the Dropbox client and its graphical dependencies inside the dropbox-container.

Add the official Dropbox repository:

sudo rpm-ostree install nano 
sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/dropbox.repo

Paste the following content into the nano editor:

[Dropbox]
name=Dropbox Repository
baseurl=https://linux.dropbox.com/fedora/$releasever/
gpgkey=https://linux.dropbox.com/fedora/rpm-public-key.asc
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Save the file (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

Install nautilus-dropbox and its graphical dependencies:
```
sudo dnf install nautilus-dropbox libappindicator-gtk3 libappindicator libdbusmenu-gtk3 gtk3-devel gtk2-devel
```
Confirm the installation when prompted by typing y and pressing Enter.

Step 4: Start Dropbox and Link Your Account

After installation, start the Dropbox daemon and link it to your account.

Start the Dropbox daemon:
```
dropbox start -i
```
- Crucial: This command will likely open a new tab or window in your host system's web browser to log into your Dropbox account.
- Complete the login and authorization process in your browser.
- You might see a non-critical warning like Failed to load module "colorreload-gtk-module". You can safely ignore this.

to do : autostart script

Conclusion

You should now have a fully functional and integrated Dropbox client running on your Fedora Kinoite/Silverblue system via Distrobox. Your files will sync to ~/Dropbox on your host, and you can manage the client seamlessly from your desktop.

To update Dropbox in the future, simply enter your container (distrobox enter dropbox-container) and run sudo dnf update.

nicolasdb/dropbox_distrobox.md

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