Move Dropbox to your own bucket

Dropbox is a nice office. It is a worse vault. Docs, PDFs, and dumps of old folders should live in a bucket you own if you want them to outlast a plan change.

This post is the move for Dropbox files. Not Google Drive. Not the photo library. Those belong in Move Google Drive to your own bucket and Move Google Photos to your own bucket.

1. Export folders from dropbox.com

Log in at dropbox.com. Open All files. Click the checkbox next to a folder. Click Download.

Folders download as a .zip. That is the official path. There is no Google-style Takeout. There isn't one.

The official cap is under 250 GB uncompressed and under 10,000 files. Nested files still count. Source is Dropbox download help, updated Feb 16, 2026.

A bigger library needs the Dropbox desktop app. Copy the folders off. Or download in batches.

Individual files have no zip size cap. Download those one at a time if you need to.

Do not unpack this onto a laptop and call it done. The zips are the handoff. The bucket is the home.

2. Pick a bucket you own

You need S3-compatible object storage. Not another Dropbox clone.

For the price table, see the cheapest cloud object storage comparison.

This post does not walk the console again. If you do not have a bucket hooked up yet, follow how to connect a Backblaze B2 bucket and come back.

3. Import the zip in file.rocks

Sign in at file.rocks. Open Settings, then Import. Stay on From zip.

Pick Other zip. That is the generic zip path. The Google Photos (Takeout) tile is for the photo library, not Dropbox.

Turn Media files only off if you have docs. The box can start on. If it stays on, those files get skipped.

Drop the zip. Click Start import. file.rocks unpacks it into your bucket. You do not unzip it on your laptop.

Wait until it finishes. Open a few PDFs and docs and make sure they open.

You are not copying into file.rocks storage. file.rocks is the UI. The objects land in your bucket.

If you already unpacked the zip, drop the folders in Files instead. That is the fallback, not the main path.

4. What you lose

Be honest about this before you delete anything in Dropbox.

You lose live shared folders. People you shared with in Dropbox will not keep a magic link into your new bucket. Send them files if they still need them.

You lose Dropbox Paper. Those docs are not in the zip. They are a different Save as... path.

You lose desktop sync. The Dropbox desktop app will not keep a folder on your laptop glued to this bucket. New files need a new habit: download again later, or import another zip through file.rocks.

You lose version history and Rewind. The zip is the files as they are now.

You keep the files. You own the bucket. You can leave file.rocks, or B2, and the objects still sit there.

5. Then stop

Do not rebuild Dropbox. Do not hunt for a live-share plugin on day one.

Open the files in file.rocks when you need a PDF. Keep the bucket paid.

Drive and Photos are different exports. Use Move Google Drive to your own bucket and Move Google Photos to your own bucket.

Need to send a file after it lands? That is how to share a file from your own bucket.

A direct download URL is a different path. Use import a file from a link or torrent. That is not the Dropbox path.

No more cloud storage subscriptions.