Dropbox on debian server does not start

[GioSomma]

On a Debian server I created the user named UserDB, with its credentials.

In its Home Folder (/srv/dev-disk/Home/UserDB) I installed Dropbox as in the official guide.
I also saved the dropbox.py file in the ~/Dropbox folder.

Now, if I connect via SSH with this user, I enter in the ~/Dropbox folder and launch dropbox.py I can start Dropbox, stop it, see its status, add folders to exclude, ...
So everything looks OK.

I then created the file: /etc/systemd/system/dropbox.service with:

[Unit]
Description=Dropbox Daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=UserDB
ExecStart=/srv/dev-disk/Home/UserDB/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
ExecStop=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Now, if I connect via SSH as UserDB and run systemctl status dropobox.service I see the service as active and if I run dropbox.py I see that Dropbox is running and is synchronizing.

If instead I connect as root and run systemctl status dropbox.service, I still see the service active, but with dropbox.py status I see the message: Dropbox isn't running!

If write  ./dropbox.py start I see:

Starting Dropbox...
The Dropbox daemon is not installed!
Run "dropbox start -i" to install the daemon

Where am I doing wrong?

[Здравко]

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@GioSomma wrote:

...

Where am I doing wrong?

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Hi @GioSomma,

Actually, you weren't doing anything wrong, anywhere. 😉 Might be pointed some imperfections in your service file, but it's fine still.

The problem comes from your expectations! 🧐 Note that Dropbox application is a client mode application, as noted in users guide, despite not very noticable. That's why when you run Dropbox control script in particular context (local user), it expect the daemon to be installed and run in the same context!

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@GioSomma wrote:

On a Debian server I created the user named UserDB, with its credentials.

In its Home Folder (/srv/dev-disk/Home/UserDB) I installed Dropbox as in the official guide.
...
If instead I connect as root and run systemctl status dropbox.service, I still see the service active, but with dropbox.py status I see the message: Dropbox isn't running!

If write  ./dropbox.py start I see:

Starting Dropbox...
The Dropbox daemon is not installed!
Run "dropbox start -i" to install the daemon

...

---

Yes, of course! The daemon is running (and got installed) in 'UserDB' context, but the control script is running in 'root' context. 😉 That's where the confusion comes from.

To workaround the above, change control script' running context. For the 'root' it's enough something like:

su UserDB -c 'dropbox status'

Consider 'status' more as a example. Could be any valid option/subcommand. For other users above should be extended to:

sudo su UserDB -c 'dropbox status'

Hope this helps.

[GioSomma]

Many thanks @Здравко 

I understand your answer.
Having been installed on a server it is enough for me that Dropbox works when the server is up.

To give instructions to Dropbox I can also connect with the UserDB user. What is important is that when I log out of the terminal, Dropbox continues to work.
Since there is no GUI I cannot verify what is happening.
I can only see if adding or deleting a file replicates it correctly, but I can't do anything else to check if Dropbox is working.

[Здравко]

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@GioSomma wrote:

...
Since there is no GUI I cannot verify what is happening.
I can only see if adding or deleting a file replicates it correctly, but I can't do anything else to check if Dropbox is working.

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Hi @GioSomma,

That's not entirely correct. Yes, you can't check current status on status bar or similar. If you have installed Nautilus (or compatible) on your server and the Dropbox plugin together your can redirect graphical output to the machine you are working on. The bottleneck here is that your workstation setup should support X redirection. If your machine match this requirement it's not a problem to run Nautilus with redirected output and see what's going on live.

Hope this gives an idea.

[GioSomma]

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@Здравко wrote:

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@GioSomma wrote:

...
Since there is no GUI I cannot verify what is happening.
I can only see if adding or deleting a file replicates it correctly, but I can't do anything else to check if Dropbox is working.

---

Hi @GioSomma,

That's not entirely correct. Yes, you can't check current status on status bar or similar. If you have installed Nautilus (or compatible) on your server and the Dropbox plugin together your can redirect graphical output to the machine you are working on. The bottleneck here is that your workstation setup should support X redirection. If your machine match this requirement it's not a problem to run Nautilus with redirected output and see what's going on live.

Hope this gives an idea.

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OK, I try to follow your advice.
I'll do some tests again.
Thanks again

[Здравко]

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@GioSomma wrote:

...
I'll do some tests again.
...

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Hi,

🙂 Seems you don't know what I have told about or missing experience, if you need to test. Following articles can guide you in your first steps:

https://kb.iu.edu/d/bdnt

http://www.cs.umd.edu/~nelson/classes/utilities/xforwarding.shtml

The above is enough to speed up your 'testing', I think. 😉 Even though it's not exhaustive, rather simplified - there are many more possibilities. Use your domain (or IP) and username in provided examples.

Good luck!

[GioSomma]

In fact, I've never used it.
Yours are very useful links.
Thanks again.