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Hello, I have a question about the box API when OAuth 2.0 is used. My end goal is to upload a file to box using a bot. The first part of my test is to set up the API and do this manually for now.



With this goal in mind, I created a personal box account (my organization suggested doing this) to do testing. Then, I created an application and followed the instructions from box to authenticate using Python and SDK.



The problem that I’m facing is that I cannot view my root folder. I get a message saying <Box Folder - 0 (All Files)>. I can create folders, search for files, and upload file to box root folder.



I read some of the posts on the forum and I already discarded the possibility that I am using a service account because when I look at my client.user() i see my user ID and email. Also, I’m using a developer token and to my understanding, a developer token is associated with the user who’s logged into the developer console. The code that I’m using is below, thank you!






from boxsdk import OAuth2, Client





auth = OAuth2(


    client_id='MY_CLIENT_ID...',


    client_secret='MY_CLIENT_SECRET...,


    access_token='rC2TetewQsKzZxCz2gVdM0VbLDcD1NcZ'


)


auth_url, csrf_token = auth.get_authorization_url('https://developer.box.com/auth/callback')





# redirect(auth_url, code=302)


client = Client(auth)





#I get my user 


user = client.user().get()


print(f'\n\nThe current user is \n{user}\n\n')





#can not get the root folder


root_folder = client.root_folder().get()


print("the root folder is ",root_folder)





#But I can send files to the root folder, create folders, do query searches etc


folder_id = '0'


new_file = client.folder(folder_id).upload('test.pdf')


print(f'File "{new_file.name}" uploaded to Box with file ID {new_file.id}')

Welcome to the Forum, @Sahachel24



What are you trying to do with your root folder exactly ?


For all customers, the root folder ID is always = to 0


There is no specific folder ID for the root folder.

Hi @Sahachel24 ,



I’ve tried your code with a couple variations and they all work just fine.



If I understood correctly, you’re trying to read the content of a folder, specifically the root folder. That is done with the folder.get_items()method. The folder.get() method returns the folder metadata it self.



For example based in your code:



from boxsdk import OAuth2, Client





auth = OAuth2(


    client_id='by...hm',


    client_secret='ad...Vjr',


    access_token='Tx...Db'


)


# auth_url, csrf_token = auth.get_authorization_url('https://developer.box.com/auth/callback')





# redirect(auth_url, code=302)


client = Client(auth)





# I get my user 


user = client.user().get()


print(f'\n\nThe current user is \n{user}\n\n')





# can not get the root folder


root_folder = client.root_folder().get()


# this also works


# root_folder = client.folder('0').get() 


print("the root folder is ", root_folder)








# But I can send files to the root folder, create folders, do query searches etc


# folder_id = '0'


# new_file = client.folder(folder_id).upload('test.pdf')


# print(f'File "{new_file.name}" uploaded to Box with file ID {new_file.id}')





# list items in root folder


# this also works


# items = client.folder(folder_id='0').get_items(limit=100, offset=0)


items = root_folder.get_items()


for item in items:


    print(f"{item.type} {item.id} {item.name}")


and in my case this script returns:



The current user is 


<Box User - 25428698627 (Free Dev 001)>








the root folder is  <Box Folder - 0 (All Files)>


folder 234102715058 My Sign Requests


folder 216797257531 My Signed Documents


folder 221723756896 UIE Samples


folder 223095001439 workshops


file 1204688948039 Get Started with Box.pdf


file 1351892000645 sample_file_copy.txt


Let me give you a couple of resources that you might find interesting:



We also have a sample app template for the classic SDK, which will trigger the oAuth flow, you can take a look here:





This to avoid having to re-generate the developer token every 60 minutes.



We also have a couple of workshops.



For the classic SDK:





For the new Gen SDK





Both have sample apps on different topics.



Let us know if this helps.



Cheers

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