(Note that this README applies to the current Python version in the py/ directory)
This utility converts Box Notes from the new JSON format to text. It supports these types of objects:
paragraph
text (plain, strong, and em)
hard_break
code_block
heading
horizontal_rule
blockquote
tab_list, ordered_list, bullet_list, check_list
list_item, check_list_item
table, table_row, table_cell †
† Tables can be rendered as formatted text if links is
available on your computer; otherwise tables are rendered as HTML.
boxnote2txt.py has no dependency on the box-python-sdk, and can be run with any Python
3.9+ version.
What started as a way for me to automate certain file operations turned into a client that I use exclusively, rather than the web interface. I'm not an enterprise user, so there'll be missing gaps in that regard.
The biggest chore in installing boxcli is that you'll need to create an OAuth2 Box App,
just as if you were using the official Box CLI. They've documented this process here:
Once you have the Client ID and Secret, you can go about setting up this Python CLI. Basically:
-
Symlink the
boxcliscript frompy/into a directory on your PATH. -
Run
boxclionce -- it will create a~/.boxtoolsdirectory. -
Edit
~/.boxtools/boxtools.tomland fill in the client-id and client-secret from the Box App that you created. -
Run
boxcli --helpto see usage and command information.
What sets this Python CLI apart is that it attempts not to replicate the REST API, but to provide an efficient way of working with Box interactively from the command line. The modes of referencing items from history, and the stash, are perhaps the two most useful improvements over the standard CLI. For instance,
$ boxcli shell
Type q(uit)/e(xit) to exit the shell, and h(elp)/? for general usage.
> ls 0
Type Name Id
------------------------------------------
folder Backup ················ […]995872
folder Books & Literature ···· […]649006
folder Code ·················· […]936343
folder Docs ·················· […]929133
folder Documents ············· […]951403
folder Media ················· […]263706
folder Misc ·················· […]690675
folder Transfer ·············· […]939135
folder Work ·················· […]936975
> ls Doc/03 <-- one of many shortcut styles for referring to a history item
[...]
> ls .. <-- view the parent folder of the most-recently listed folder
> tree -s -i '.*\.txt' ^Books <-- recursively go through "Books & Literature" and add
all .txt files to the stash
> mv @@ Tra/35 <-- move all of those stashed .txt files to "Transfer"
But the official Box CLI covers the whole API, while this project treats just a subset:
auth Obtain auth tokens via OAuth2
refresh Refresh existing auth tokens
token Print access token to stdout
userinfo Print authorized user info
history,hist Show previous ID history
ls, list List contents of a folder
fd, search Search for items
tree Display a tree of items and add to stash
get Download files or representations
zip Download a ZIP file of items
repr Get represenation information
put Upload files
cat Write the contents of files or web-links to stdout
mkdir Create a new folder
rm, del Remove files or folders
mv, move Move files or folders
cp, copy Copy files or folders
rn, rename Rename a file or folder
ln, link Get links for files or folders
readlink Get the item referred to by a shared link
path Get full path of files or folders
stat Get info about the item referred to by a shared link
desc Print or update the description of a file or folder
trash List, view, restore, or purge items in the trash.
ver, version List, download, and manipulate file versions
unspace Rename items to remove spaces and other odd chars
stash Manipulate the item stash
source Read commands from a given file
shell Enter an interactive shell. Certain commands are handled
See py/resources/usage.txt for the built-in help.