Couldn't get shared link: Unknown Error

[Gilad K.]

Getting this error after trying to get a sharelink from the command line.

dropbox sharelink <some file>

Running on Ubuntu 16.04, installed dropbox (64 bit) from here:

https://www.dropbox.com/install-linux

This command line used to work not too far ago.

Is this a known issue ? any solution ?

Thank you

Gilad

[310EI]

Hello, Gilad...

You can start trouble-shooting by looking at the articles below to see if they can help with your particular situation.

HELP CENTER ARTICLES

• What Linux commands are available for Dropbox?
• The Public Folder
• System requirements to run Dropbox
• Install Dropbox on Linux to get the most out of your account
• How do I build the Dropbox installer for Linux from source?

I don't use Terminal on Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS to share links, I generate them through Dropbox's Desktop Client as shown in the screenshot below.  At minimum, it's an alternative method for you to use.

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[ArtfulVampire]

I have the same problem.

Most I have investigated - when I copy sharelink from right-click menu in Nautilus, terminal command starts working for that file; if I do that for many files, terminal command proceed working on each of them.

But (surprize!) it's not for long time (of about 5 minutes). After that terminal command gives the error output again.

So, I suppose, the item "get shared link" from right-click menu in Nautilus makes some more than terminal command: it gets the link and stores it in some buffer. Terminal command only tries to get the link from this buffer, and when it's empty - reports of an error.

We should look into sources to confirm and correct it.

[Sorbing]

Same problem(

[pdrews]

I have the same problem, with the same symptoms as ArtfulVampire.  Getting a link from the Nautilus context menu allows the command line client to work for a few minutes.  The command line interface worked as recently as two weeks ago for me.  I'm not sure if there is a difference between the command line interface and the contex menu, but the command line interface is extremely useful for sharing links to several files at once.

[pdrews · Accepted solution]

I have found a solution to this problem.  It seems there is some issue in the latest version of the dropbox client that prevents the link sharing from working.  I downloaded the latest stable build for linux, installed it, and it works fine now.  I would assume they are going to automatically push this release at some point, but here is the link in case anyone needs it sooner:

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Desktop-client-builds/Stable-Build-15-4-22/m-p/195732#M3502

There is a README file in there that describes installation.  Basically, unzip it and copy the main folder to ~/.dropbox-dist then run ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd.  I would recommend backing up your current version of ~/.dropbox-dist.

[Rich]

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pdrews wrote:

It seems there is some issue in the latest version of the dropbox client that prevents the link sharing from working.

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If you haven't already, make sure you reply to that build's forum post so the devleoper's know of the issue. If it's just listed here, they likely will not see it.

[ArtfulVampire]

Thank you, it works.
I've also added ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd into "automatically run programs on startup" (gnome-session-properties)

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]