Here is a quick rundown on how I installed dropbox on my headless server.

Download the CLI interface with wget:

$ wget “https://www.dropbox.com/download?dl=packages/dropbox.py” -O dropbox.py

Set the permissions, so you can execute the script:

$ chmod +x dropbox.py

Before you continue, you may want to install python-gpgme. It is only used to verify the download of the binaries and not strictly necessary. If you do, you can always uninstall it once you are done.

$ sudo apt-get install python-gpgme

You can now use the Python script to download the Dropbox client. The client will be downloaded to your users home directory so make sure that you are logged in as the correct user.

$ ./dropbox.py start -i
Starting Dropbox…
Dropbox is the easiest way to share and store your files online. Want to learn more? Head to https://www.dropbox.com/

In order to use Dropbox, you must download the proprietary daemon. [y/n]

If you get an error message about missing pygtk (python) library you can either remove the DISPLAY variable from your environment, or if you prefer a remote GUI, install python-gtk2.

$ unset DISPLAY
OR
$ sudo apt-get install python-gtk2

Assuming you have answered “download the proprietary daemon” with yes, the client binaries will be downloaded and installed. The next step is to register your account with the Dropbox client so that synchronization can begin. Start Dropbox with the script and you should be presented with a link. Paste the link into a web browser and login to your Dropbox account to grant access to the client. As soon as this process completes, your Dropbox client will begin synchronization.

$ ./dropbox.py start

Shoud you not, get a link, try the following:

$ ./dropbox.py stop
$ ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
This computer isn’t linked to any Dropbox account…
Please visit https://www.dropbox.com/cli_link_nonce?nonce=a46181e1bf3d03ec1efe5f783530d18b to link this device.

Once you open the link into a browser and log in you should see this message:

This computer is now linked to Dropbox. Welcome {DROPBOX USERNAME}

Check the progress by typing

./dropbox.py status
Syncing (1,431 files remaining, 32 mins left)
Downloading 1,431 files (19,340 KB/sec, 32 mins left)

 

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After I went through this process, I found this page on dropbox wiki. In addition to installation instructions, it also has very useful troubleshooting information.