Dropbox integration with Ignition

Ignition
1

Hi guys. Not sure if this is allowed but I made a small guide on how to get started integrating Dropbox with Ignition. Took me a few days with Cloude and ChatGPT to figure it out so maybe this will help someone save time. I'm using a Flask API because I couldn't get the ignition script to directly interface with the Dropbox API. Too many issues with the Jython on ignition. Also couldn't figure out how to directly send file data to the Flask API fromt he fileUpload component. But because Flask didn't have an issue uploading when I just pointed it to a file on the directory, I decided to have the fileUpload component just put the file in temporary storage, then send the file's location to the Flask API for upload. Seems to work pretty good. Obviously lots of room for improvement, but hopefully this will get you started.

Dropbox-Ignition Integration Guide

This document outlines the process of creating an integration between Ignition SCADA and Dropbox for file transfer capabilities. This is a basic implementation that can be used as a starting point for more advanced functionality.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the integration, ensure you have:

  • Administrative access to create a Dropbox developer application
  • Python 3.x installed on your system
  • Ignition SCADA system with Perspective module
  • Basic understanding of Python, REST APIs, and Ignition scripting

Step 1: Dropbox Application Setup

  1. Visit https://www.dropbox.com/developers
  2. Create a new app with the following settings:
    • Choose "Scoped access"
    • Select "Full Dropbox" access
    • Name your application
  3. Once created, configure the following permissions:
    • files.metadata.read
    • files.metadata.write
    • files.content.read
    • files.content.write
  4. Note down your App Key and App Secret (keep these secure)

Step 2: Initial Authentication Setup

Create a Python script for initial authentication and token management:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import dropbox
from dropbox import DropboxOAuth2FlowNoRedirect
import os
import json
import requests

# Replace with your app credentials
APP_KEY = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
APP_SECRET = "YOUR_APP_SECRET"

TOKEN_FILE = "dropbox_token.json"

def save_tokens(tokens):
    """Save Dropbox tokens to a file."""
    with open(TOKEN_FILE, "w") as f:
        json.dump(tokens, f)
    print(f"Tokens saved to {TOKEN_FILE}")

def authenticate_dropbox():
    """Perform initial Dropbox authentication."""
    auth_flow = DropboxOAuth2FlowNoRedirect(APP_KEY, APP_SECRET, token_access_type='offline')
    authorize_url = auth_flow.start()
    print("1. Go to: " + authorize_url)
    print("2. Click \"Allow\" (you might have to log in first).")
    print("3. Copy the authorization code.")
    auth_code = input("Enter the authorization code here: ").strip()
    
    try:
        oauth_result = auth_flow.finish(auth_code)
        tokens = {
            "access_token": oauth_result.access_token,
            "refresh_token": oauth_result.refresh_token
        }
        save_tokens(tokens)
        return tokens
    except Exception as e:
        print('Error: %s' % (e,))
        return None

def main():
    tokens = authenticate_dropbox()
    if not tokens:
        print("Authentication failed!")
        return
    print("Authentication successful!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Step 3: Directory Structure Setup

Create the following directories:

C:\temp\dropbox_upload    # Temporary storage for files being uploaded
C:\temp\dropbox_download  # Temporary storage for downloaded files

Step 4: Flask API Server Implementation

Create a new file named app.py with the following content:

from flask import Flask, request, jsonify, send_file
import dropbox
from dropbox.exceptions import AuthError, ApiError
from dropbox.files import WriteMode
import json
import os

# Replace with your app credentials
APP_KEY = "YOUR_APP_KEY"
APP_SECRET = "YOUR_APP_SECRET"
TOKEN_FILE = "dropbox_token.json"

app = Flask(__name__)

# Token Management
def load_tokens():
    """Load Dropbox tokens from file."""
    if os.path.exists(TOKEN_FILE):
        with open(TOKEN_FILE, "r") as f:
            return json.load(f)
    return None

def refresh_access_token(refresh_token):
    """Get new access token using refresh token."""
    try:
        dbx = dropbox.Dropbox(
            oauth2_refresh_token=refresh_token,
            app_key=APP_KEY,
            app_secret=APP_SECRET
        )
        dbx.users_get_current_account()
        new_access_token = dbx._oauth2_access_token
        
        tokens = {
            "access_token": new_access_token,
            "refresh_token": refresh_token
        }
        with open(TOKEN_FILE, "w") as f:
            json.dump(tokens, f)
            
        return new_access_token
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Token refresh error: {str(e)}")
        return None

# Initialize Dropbox client
tokens = load_tokens()
if tokens:
    dbx = dropbox.Dropbox(oauth2_access_token=tokens["access_token"])
else:
    print("No valid tokens found. Run authentication script first.")
    dbx = None

def get_dropbox_client():
    """Get valid Dropbox client, refreshing token if needed."""
    global dbx, tokens
    
    if not dbx:
        return None
    
    try:
        dbx.users_get_current_account()
    except AuthError:
        new_access_token = refresh_access_token(tokens["refresh_token"])
        if new_access_token:
            dbx = dropbox.Dropbox(oauth2_access_token=new_access_token)
        else:
            dbx = None
    
    return dbx

# API Routes
@app.route('/upload', methods=['POST'])
def upload_file():
    """Handle file uploads to Dropbox."""
    data = request.get_json()
    dropbox_path = data.get('path')
    file_path = data.get('file_path')

    if not all([dropbox_path, file_path]):
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': 'Missing required parameters'
        }), 400

    dbx = get_dropbox_client()
    if not dbx:
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': 'Dropbox authentication failed'
        }), 401

    try:
        with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
            result = dbx.files_upload(
                f.read(),
                dropbox_path,
                mode=WriteMode('overwrite')
            )
        return jsonify({
            'success': True,
            'file_path': result.path_display
        })
    except Exception as e:
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': str(e)
        })

@app.route('/download', methods=['GET'])
def download_file():
    """Handle file downloads from Dropbox."""
    dropbox_path = request.args.get('dropbox_path')
    if not dropbox_path:
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': 'No file path provided'
        }), 400

    dbx = get_dropbox_client()
    if not dbx:
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': 'Dropbox authentication failed'
        }), 401

    try:
        temp_dir = "C:/temp/dropbox_download/"
        os.makedirs(temp_dir, exist_ok=True)
        local_path = os.path.join(temp_dir, os.path.basename(dropbox_path))

        with open(local_path, "wb") as f:
            metadata, res = dbx.files_download(dropbox_path)
            f.write(res.content)

        return send_file(local_path, as_attachment=True)
    except Exception as e:
        return jsonify({
            'success': False,
            'error': str(e)
        }), 500

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(host='127.0.0.1', port=9876, debug=True)

Step 5: Ignition Script Setup

Create a Project Library script called dropbox_rest in Ignition:

import java.net
import system.util

def uploadFileToDropbox(event, dropbox_path):
    """
    Upload a file to Dropbox via the Flask API.
    
    Args:
        event: File upload event from Perspective
        dropbox_path: Target path in Dropbox
    """
    logger = system.util.getLogger("Dropbox")

    try:
        # Get file info and create temp path
        file_name = event.file.name
        temp_path = "C:/temp/dropbox_upload/" + file_name
        
        # Save to temp location
        event.file.copyTo(temp_path)
        
        # Ensure proper path formatting
        if not dropbox_path.endswith(file_name):
            dropbox_path = dropbox_path.rstrip('/') + '/' + file_name
        
        # Send to API
        json_data = {
            'path': dropbox_path,
            'file_path': temp_path.replace("\\", "/")
        }
        
        client = system.net.httpClient()
        response = client.post(
            "http://127.0.0.1:9876/upload",
            data=json_data,
            headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"}
        )
        
        if response:
            result = response.json
            if result.get('success'):
                logger.info("Upload successful: %s" % result.get('file_path'))
            else:
                logger.error("Upload failed: %s" % result.get('error'))
            return result
        else:
            return {'success': False, 'error': 'No response from server'}

    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(str(e))
        return {'success': False, 'error': str(e)}

def downloadFileFromDropbox(dropbox_path):
    """
    Download a file from Dropbox via the Flask API.
    
    Args:
        dropbox_path: Path to file in Dropbox
    """
    logger = system.util.getLogger("Dropbox")

    try:
        # Create URL-encoded request
        url = "http://127.0.0.1:9876/download"
        params = {"dropbox_path": dropbox_path}
        query_string = "&".join([
            key + "=" + java.net.URLEncoder.encode(str(value), "UTF-8")
            for key, value in params.items()
        ])
        full_url = url + "?" + query_string
        
        response = system.net.httpGet(full_url)
        
        if response:
            logger.info("Download successful")
            return response
        else:
            logger.error("No response from server")
            return None

    except Exception as e:
        logger.error("Download error: " + str(e))
        return None

Step 6: Perspective Component Setup

  1. Create a File Upload component with the following script in the onFileReceived event:
def runAction(self, event):
    logger = system.util.getLogger("DropboxTest")
    
    result = dropbox_rest.uploadFileToDropbox(
        event,
        "/TestFolder"  # Modify this path as needed
    )
    
    logger.info("Upload result: %s" % str(result))
  1. Create a Download Button component with the following script:
def runAction(self, event):
    dropbox_path = "/TestFolder/TestFile_1.txt"  # Modify as needed
    dropbox_rest.downloadFileFromDropbox(dropbox_path)

Future Enhancements

This implementation provides basic file upload/download functionality but could be enhanced with:

  1. Dynamic folder path selection
  2. File browser interface
  3. Progress tracking for large files
  4. Error handling and retry logic
  5. File type restrictions
  6. User authentication and access control
  7. Automatic cleanup of temporary files
  8. File operation logging and audit trail
  9. Multiple file upload support
  10. Configurable server settings

Security Considerations

  1. Store API credentials securely
  2. Implement proper error handling
  3. Add request validation
  4. Use HTTPS for API communication
  5. Implement rate limiting
  6. Add file type validation
  7. Implement proper logging
  8. Regular token rotation
  9. Access control mechanisms
  10. Secure temporary file handling

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

  1. Authentication failures:

    • Verify API credentials
    • Check token expiration
    • Ensure proper permissions

  2. File transfer issues:

    • Check temporary directory permissions
    • Verify file paths
    • Check network connectivity

  3. API connection issues:

    • Verify Flask server is running
    • Check port availability
    • Confirm firewall settings

Support

For additional assistance:

Remember to regularly check for updates to the Dropbox API and SDK, as features and authentication methods may change over time.

3 Likes
2

Cool, thanks! Is your API on the same server as Ignition or isolated?

3

Yeah it's on the same server as the Ignition Gateway. Haven't tested with a perspective session running on a separate machine.

4

I may be wrong, but I feel that putting them in the same server could compete in resources and affect Ignition.

5

At scale almost certainly. But like I said it's a starting point to save you a bit of headache trying to figure out the basics. I would suggest copying the instructions to an AI chatbot so that it knows some of the syntaxes that actually work. For example Claude got hung up on trying to use system.net.httpPost and I spent a day troubleshooting. Finally chatGPT suggested using system.net.httpClient instead and we made progress.

1 Like