Box

Mirage ships BoxVFS in two runtimes:

@struktoai/mirage-node, uses client_id + client_secret + refresh token (rotated on each use)
@struktoai/mirage-browser, supports the same refresh token via PKCE (no client secret in the bundle)

Both runtimes hit the same Box v2 API endpoints (/folders/{id}/items, /files/{id}/content, /search, plus multipart upload, folder create, delete, rename/move, and copy for writes). Credentials are obtained the same way in both runtimes, see Box Credentials. Both READ and WRITE modes are supported (mount with { mode: MountMode.WRITE } to enable tee/cp/mv/rm/mkdir/touch). Pass rootFolderId to mount a single Box folder as the workspace root instead of the whole account; folder ids are stable across renames and moves. The Python package ships the same backend, see Box (Python).

Quick start: developer token

For exploration, skip the OAuth flow and use a developer token (one-button-click in the Box app console, 60-minute lifetime). The BoxVFS accepts an accessToken field that short-circuits the refresh logic:

import { BoxVFS, MountMode, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const box = new BoxVFS({
  accessToken: process.env.BOX_DEVELOPER_TOKEN!,
})
const ws = new Workspace({ '/box': box }, { mode: MountMode.READ })
await ws.shell('ls /box/')

When the token expires (Box 401s with invalid_token), regenerate it in the console and re-run. See Box Credentials -> Quick Start.

Service account (client credentials, no refresh token)

For headless server auth, skip OAuth and refresh tokens entirely. Create a Box app with the Server Authentication (Client Credentials Grant) method, authorize it once in the Box admin console (Apps -> Custom Apps Manager), and pass the enterprise ID:

const box = new BoxVFS({
  clientId: process.env.BOX_CLIENT_ID!,
  clientSecret: process.env.BOX_CLIENT_SECRET!,
  enterpriseId: process.env.BOX_ENTERPRISE_ID!,
})

Tokens are minted for the app’s service account and re-fetched automatically on expiry; there is no refresh token to rotate or persist.

The service account is a separate Box user with its own (initially empty) root folder. To see your content, share folders with the service account’s email address, shown under the app’s General Settings in the developer console.

Node (server-side, long-running)

pnpm add @struktoai/mirage-node

import fs from 'node:fs/promises'
import { BoxVFS, MountMode, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const box = new BoxVFS({
  clientId: process.env.BOX_CLIENT_ID!,
  clientSecret: process.env.BOX_CLIENT_SECRET!,
  refreshToken: process.env.BOX_REFRESH_TOKEN!,
  // Box rotates the refresh token; persist the new one if you want to survive restarts.
  onRefreshTokenRotated: async (next) => {
    await fs.writeFile('.box-refresh', next, 'utf-8')
  },
})

const ws = new Workspace({ '/box': box }, { mode: MountMode.READ })
const res = await ws.shell('ls /box/')
console.log(res.stdoutText)

The BoxTokenManager caches the access token in memory (5-minute safety buffer before expiry) and rotates the refresh token on every refresh. Without onRefreshTokenRotated, the rotation is in-memory only and a process restart needs a fresh refresh token.

Config

Field	Description
`timeout` default `DEFAULT_TIMEOUT`	Seconds a request may wait to connect, or between two reads of its answer, before it fails; a download that keeps flowing is never cut off.
`endpoint`	Base URL that replaces Box’s API, upload and OAuth token hosts, such as a test server. Unset uses Box’s hosts.
`rootFolderId` default `'0'`	Box folder ID the mount uses as its root, from the folder’s web URL (`box.com/folder/<id>`); unlike a path it survives renames and moves. `0` is the account root.
`clientId`	Box app client ID. Required with `refreshToken` (OAuth) or with `clientSecret` and `enterpriseId` (client credentials).
`clientSecret` secret	Box app client secret. Required for client credentials; the OAuth refresh sends it when set, so a PKCE client can omit it.
`refreshToken` secret	OAuth refresh token; needs `clientId`. Box rotates it on every refresh, so persist the new one with `onRefreshTokenRotated`.
`enterpriseId`	Box enterprise ID for the client-credentials grant. With `clientId` and `clientSecret`, tokens are minted for the app’s service account and no refresh token is involved.
`accessToken` secret	Box developer token, used as is with no refresh flow; it expires after about 60 minutes. It wins over every other credential. Also accepted as `developer_token`.
`refreshFn` secret	Function that takes the current refresh token and returns `{ accessToken, refreshToken, expiresIn }`, called instead of Box’s token endpoint. Needs `clientId` and `refreshToken`.
`onRefreshTokenRotated` secret	Function (sync or async) given the new refresh token whenever a refresh rotates it, to persist it; the token it replaces stops working after its first use.

Fields marked secret are redacted in snapshots.

Browser (PKCE, no client secret)

pnpm add @struktoai/mirage-browser

import { BoxVFS, MountMode, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-browser'

// Refresh token obtained via the PKCE flow, see examples/browser/vfs/box/box_pkce.ts.
const box = new BoxVFS({
  clientId: import.meta.env.VITE_BOX_CLIENT_ID,
  refreshToken: localStorage.getItem('box-refresh')!,
  onRefreshTokenRotated: (next) => localStorage.setItem('box-refresh', next),
})

const ws = new Workspace({ '/box': box }, { mode: MountMode.READ })
await ws.shell('ls /box/')

Box requires the origin to be allowlisted on the app’s Allowed Origins config (see setup). The bundled examples/browser/vfs/box/box_pkce.ts runs the full PKCE dance and persists the rotated refresh token to localStorage.

VFS mode (`patchNodeFs`)

import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
import { BoxVFS, MountMode, patchNodeFs, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
const fs = require('fs') as typeof import('fs')

const box = new BoxVFS({ accessToken: process.env.BOX_DEVELOPER_TOKEN! })

const ws = new Workspace({ '/box': box }, { mode: MountMode.READ })
const restore = patchNodeFs(ws)

const entries = await fs.promises.readdir('/box/')
const stat = await fs.promises.stat('/box/Documents')
const bytes = await fs.promises.readFile('/box/Documents/example.json')

restore()

The async forms (fs.promises.* and the callbacks) are routed; a sync form like fs.statSync refuses a mounted path.

FUSE mode

import { BoxVFS, Mount, MountBackend, MountMode, Workspace } from '@struktoai/mirage-node'

const box = new BoxVFS({ accessToken: process.env.BOX_DEVELOPER_TOKEN! })

const ws = new Workspace({ '/box': new Mount(box, { mode: MountMode.READ, backend: MountBackend.FUSE }) })
await ws.fuseReady()
const mp = ws.fuseMountpoint
// The box subtree is exposed at the mountpoint root, so ${mp}/ is a real path:
//   ls ${mp}/
//   find ${mp} -type f
//   cat ${mp}/example.json | jq .
await ws.close()

Requires macFUSE on macOS or libfuse on Linux.

Path → ID resolution

Box uses numeric folder/file IDs internally (root folder is id 0). Mirage caches the path → ID mapping in the mount’s index store (RAM unless an index: is configured). The first time you ls /box/foo/bar/, it walks the tree top-down (one API call per level) and caches each entry’s ID. Subsequent reads of /box/foo/bar/anyfile.json hit the cache instead of re-walking. With no index: configured, listings live for the mount’s ttl (600 s by default), at most 24 hours; a configured index: uses its own ttl, still capped by the mount’s ttl:. To force re-resolution, unmount the prefix and mount a new BoxVFS there.

Writes

A write records the sha1 its upload reply names, so a fresh read right after a tee or sed -i downloads nothing.

Conditional writes

A Box mount accepts write: conditional. A write or a file delete compares the sha1 mirage holds with the one the folder listing it walks anyway shows, and refuses a file changed since it was read before sending anything; the request then carries the file’s etag as If-Match, so Box refuses (412) a change that lands in between. A conditional write costs no request more than a plain one. rm -r walks the folder file by file, and a mv within the mount is Box’s own move, which is not refused when its source changed (a mv to another mount is a copy and a conditioned delete, so there a changed source stays and mv reports the failed removal).

Reads under `fresh`

A Box mount accepts read: fresh. The token is the file’s sha1, which a folder listing and GET /files/{id} both carry; a download names no version, so a whole read stamps the listed sha1 only when the downloaded bytes hash to it, and a ranged read stamps nothing. On a write: conditional mount a whole read stamps the sha1 of the bytes it downloaded, so a listing another client has since outdated cannot leave the next write without the version the agent read. modified_at is never the token: two same-size edits in one second share it. Checking a cached file costs one request, GET /files/{id} by the id the mount last listed, while the mount still holds that file’s listing row. The answer is trusted only when Box places the same active file at the same path from the mount root; a file that was moved, renamed, trashed or recreated falls back to listing each folder from the mount root, one listing per level (up to two per level when the file is gone). When that fallback confirms byte-identical content, the built-in RAM and Redis indexes retain the newly resolved file row if the original hint is still current. A later check then uses the recovered id without refreshing the parent listing. Custom indexes must implement replaceIfUnchanged to retain this row; otherwise later checks repeat the fallback walk. A persistent 403 still requires the failed point request and a listing walk on each check. Any stale, unknown or gone verdict on the mount drops its cached listings, so the checks after one walk until a cold read or an ls lists the folders again. A file Box reports without a sha1 cannot be verified: each fresh read of it downloads it again and drops the mount’s cached listings. A folder’s etag does not move when its children change, so under fresh listings are re-fetched once per command. Repeated uses within that command share the result; outside commands, the existing one-second listing trust window applies. Before fetching a nested listing, mirage resolves its folder through current parent listings up to the configured mount root. A folder moved away and replaced under the same name is therefore resolved to the replacement on the next fresh command. This costs one listing per ancestor level; a warm file check still uses one metadata request.

Box-native file types

Every Box item is served as its raw bytes, keeping its real name (no .json suffix). Box has no API to edit these formats from a structured payload, so Mirage does not render them, it hands back exactly what Box stores:

.boxnote / .boxcanvas, Box’s native Notes and Canvas, stored as ProseMirror-style JSON. They are text, so cat foo.boxnote | jq . works if you want to poke at the structure.
.gdoc / .gsheet / .gslides, Box’s V2 Google-format files, stored as Office Open XML zips (.docx / .xlsx / .pptx). These are opaque binary, like any other Office document on a Mirage mount.

For a rich, editable view of Google-format documents, mount them through Google Drive with Google credentials instead, the gws docs ... commands operate on Google file IDs and do not apply to Box.

VFS.md

The VFS.md an agent reads with Box mounted at /<path>.

Rendered
Raw

Virtual Filesystem

Path	Description
`/<path>`	`box`, write

`/<path>` layout

/<path>
  Mirrors Box folder hierarchy. Every item is served as its raw bytes:
    <name>.boxnote      Box Note    (raw ProseMirror-style JSON; pipe to jq)
    <name>.boxcanvas    Box Canvas  (raw canvas JSON; pipe to jq)
    <name>.gdoc/.gsheet/.gslides  Box's Google-Workspace files, stored as
                        Office Open XML (docx/xlsx/pptx) - opaque binary
    <other-files>       PDFs, images, binaries, etc. - raw bytes

  IMPORTANT: This is a remote mount. Prefer targeted reads over full scans.
  Box uses numeric folder IDs internally (root = 0); mirage caches the
  path -> id mapping, so nested dirs cost one API call per level on first
  access. Use ls on the parent dir before constructing a path.

Supported Unix Commands for VFS

Unix commands work on each path as on a local filesystem, as far as the path supports them:

Path	Supported
`/<path>`	Almost all Unix commands. `grep -r` and `rg` with `-w` ask `box` which files may match.

Limitations of Unix Commands for VFS

Where a path differs from a local filesystem:

Path	Limitations
`/<path>`	Without `-w`, `grep -r` and `rg` read every file. `grep -r`, `find` and `du` stop after 1000 files; a glob matching more, `tar -c`, `cp -r` and `rm -r` are refused.

Run man to list every command, and man <cmd> or <cmd> --help for one command’s usage.

---
name: workspace-filesystem
description: The virtual filesystem layout of this workspace.
---

# Virtual Filesystem

| Path | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `/<path>` | `box`, write |

## `/<path>` layout

```text
/<path>
  Mirrors Box folder hierarchy. Every item is served as its raw bytes:
    <name>.boxnote      Box Note    (raw ProseMirror-style JSON; pipe to jq)
    <name>.boxcanvas    Box Canvas  (raw canvas JSON; pipe to jq)
    <name>.gdoc/.gsheet/.gslides  Box's Google-Workspace files, stored as
                        Office Open XML (docx/xlsx/pptx) - opaque binary
    <other-files>       PDFs, images, binaries, etc. - raw bytes

  IMPORTANT: This is a remote mount. Prefer targeted reads over full scans.
  Box uses numeric folder IDs internally (root = 0); mirage caches the
  path -> id mapping, so nested dirs cost one API call per level on first
  access. Use ls on the parent dir before constructing a path.
```

## Supported Unix Commands for VFS

Unix commands work on each path as on a local filesystem, as far as the path supports them:

| Path | Supported |
| --- | --- |
| `/<path>` | Almost all Unix commands. `grep -r` and `rg` with `-w` ask `box` which files may match. |

## Limitations of Unix Commands for VFS

Where a path differs from a local filesystem:

| Path | Limitations |
| --- | --- |
| `/<path>` | Without `-w`, `grep -r` and `rg` read every file. `grep -r`, `find` and `du` stop after 1000 files; a glob matching more, `tar -c`, `cp -r` and `rm -r` are refused. |

Run `man` to list every command, and `man <cmd>` or `<cmd> --help` for one command's usage.

Integration

What Box answers through its own API, so fewer files are read. Integration explains each command.

Command	On Box
`grep -r`, `rg`	Box search, for whole words. It can miss Office files, PDFs, archives, the end of large files, words Box splits differently (`foo.bar`) and recent writes.
`sha1sum`	The SHA-1 Box keeps, asked live

The Python Box docs list when each search answers and what it can miss.

Available commands

BoxVFS ships the same shell command set as GoogleDriveVFS and DropboxVFS:

Filesystem: ls, cat, head, tail, nl, wc, stat, find, tree, du, file, realpath, basename, dirname
Writes (in WRITE mode): tee, cp, mv, rm (-r), mkdir (-p), touch, truncate
Search/text: grep, rg, awk, sed, sort, uniq, cut, diff, cmp, jq
Encoding: base64

Examples

End-to-end runnable scripts are in examples/typescript/vfs/box/:

box.ts, Workspace.shell('ls/stat/cat/tree …') shell demo
box_vfs.ts, patchNodeFs + native fs.promises.* calls
box_fuse.ts, FUSE mount with shell access in another terminal

Getting Started

Access

AI Agents

VFS

CLIs

Runtimes

Quick start: developer token

Service account (client credentials, no refresh token)

Node (server-side, long-running)

Config

Browser (PKCE, no client secret)

VFS mode (`patchNodeFs`)

FUSE mode

Path → ID resolution

Writes

Conditional writes

Reads under `fresh`

Box-native file types

VFS.md

Virtual Filesystem

`/<path>` layout

Supported Unix Commands for VFS

Limitations of Unix Commands for VFS

Integration

Available commands

Examples

​Quick start: developer token

​Service account (client credentials, no refresh token)

​Node (server-side, long-running)

​Config

​Browser (PKCE, no client secret)

​VFS mode (patchNodeFs)

​FUSE mode

​Path → ID resolution

​Writes

​Conditional writes

​Reads under fresh

​Box-native file types

​VFS.md

​Virtual Filesystem

​/<path> layout

​Supported Unix Commands for VFS

​Limitations of Unix Commands for VFS

​Integration

​Available commands

​Examples

Quick start: developer token

Service account (client credentials, no refresh token)

Node (server-side, long-running)

Config

Browser (PKCE, no client secret)

VFS mode (`patchNodeFs`)

FUSE mode

Path → ID resolution

Writes

Conditional writes

Reads under `fresh`

Box-native file types

VFS.md

Virtual Filesystem

`/<path>` layout

Supported Unix Commands for VFS

Limitations of Unix Commands for VFS

Integration

Available commands

Examples