I received the following email from Dropbox notifying me that Dropbox for macOS on File Provider was ready.
We’re writing to let you know that Dropbox for macOS on File Provider is ready. This updated version of the Dropbox app has a deep integration with macOS to ensure you have the best Dropbox experience.
To get started, ensure your computer is on the latest version of macOS and click the Dropbox icon in your menu bar. On the notification that appears, click Get started.
File Provider is a macOS API in the form of "an extension other apps use to access files and folders managed by your app and synced with a remote storage."
I'm in macOS Sonoma, and so far, the transition has been smooth. It seems like macOS indexed my entire Dropbox library, which is north of 500,000 files.
Offline file loading on double-click has improved, and it seems third-party apps that read configuration files from Dropbox aren't having any issues doing so.
Other than that, the overall experience feels the same.
This move was forced by Apple and is meant to improve how Dropbox and other cloud file providers work.
Let's see how it goes.