Is There a Dropbox API Equivalent for Zipping Selected Files (Like the Web UI)?

simonscmap

Hello!

We’re building a web app that integrates with Dropbox, and we’re trying to replicate the Dropbox web UI behavior where a user selects a few files in a folder and downloads them as a zip.

From the API docs, we can:

• Use filesDownload to download one file
• Use filesDownloadZip to download an entire folder

But I haven’t found a way to zip and download a specific list of files (not the whole folder) — which is something the Dropbox UI handles very quickly and smoothly.

Workaround we’re using now:

We copy selected files into a temp folder, then call filesDownloadZip on that folder. It works but is slow — especially with many small files — because copy operations seem to run sequentially.

Questions:

1. Is there an API to zip a custom list of files (like the UI)?
2. If not, is there a way to copy files concurrently or batch them efficiently?
3. Any best practices for speeding this up?

We’re aiming to match the performance and simplicity of the Dropbox UI experience inside our app. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Howard

DB-Des

Hi @simonscmap 

Is there an API to zip a custom list of files (like the UI)?
No, there isn’t an API available for zipping a custom list of files. What’s listed in our developer documentation reflects the full set of supported endpoints at this time.

If not, is there a way to copy files concurrently or batch them efficiently?
We recommend reviewing our performance guide here:
https://developers.dropbox.com/dbx-performance-guide
It covers batching strategies and concurrency recommendations.

Any best practices for speeding this up?
The same performance guide linked above includes best practices for improving the efficiency of file operations like uploads, downloads, and copies.

Let us know if you have any additional technical questions.