Can't access shared folder metadata

Hi eaev,

In order for a shared folder to show in your Dropbox account, or the Dropbox folder on your computer, you need to ensure you have joined the folder after you were added to it as a member. You can do so by:

1. Log in to dropbox.com.
2. Click Home in the left navigation bar.
3. Click Shared in the left sidebar.
4. Find the shared folder you want to access. 
5. Hover over the folder you’d like to join and select Join folder.

Once you have joined this shared folder, it should be available for you to interact with (uploading and downloading files, in your case) using the API, without needing to download the folder and all of its contents locally.

You can reference this example for an idea on how to upload and download documents using the Python SDK.

You also mentioned:

I am able to generate and use an API token, however it seems like the dropbox object can only see what has been downloaded to my personal laptop

To clarify, when sending requests to the Dropbox API, the information returned is information stored on our servers, not information stored locally on your computer.

I hope you find this information helpful!