The moment it happens

Keep a running event log in Dropbox

Every event you send adds a line to a CSV file in Dropbox, so you have one growing log.

Runs: The moment it happens
Apps: Dropbox
AI: Not needed
Access: files.content.read, files.content.write

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: give me a link my app can send events to. Each time, add a line with the time, event name and payload to /Logs/events.csv in Dropbox.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

Add to ChatGPT Add to Claude

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A small team needs a simple, durable log of events: form submissions, orders, error reports, sensor readings or custom notifications from their own tools. Setting up a database for it feels like overkill, and spreadsheets break when two events arrive at the same moment. Without a log, there is no easy way to answer when something happened or to hand the history to an accountant or a client.

Each time you send an event, the automation downloads the current log file from Dropbox, adds a new line and uploads it back, checking the file revision so two events arriving together do not overwrite one another. You end up with a plain text or CSV file that anyone can open without special software.

Freelancers, small businesses and developers who want a simple, shareable record without running a database find it handy.

What you get out of it

A log without a database
A text or CSV file in Dropbox is easy to open, search and share. There is nothing to host or maintain, and nobody has to learn a query language just to read what happened on a particular day.
Events are not lost to overwrites
Checking the file revision before saving means simultaneous events do not erase each other. Each line survives, even during a burst of activity, which is exactly when a naive logging setup tends to lose data.
Shareable with people outside your tools
Because it is just a file in Dropbox, you can share it with a client or an accountant. They see the history without needing an account in any of your other tools, and without bothering you for exports.
Opens in a spreadsheet
A CSV log can be opened in Excel or Google Sheets for sorting, filtering and charts. Analysis requires no special software, so a non-technical colleague can answer their own questions from the data.
A durable record you own
The file stays in your Dropbox with its own version history. You can recover an earlier version if a line is added by mistake, and nobody can quietly rewrite the record without leaving a trace.

How it works

What happens, step by step

When your app or another tool sends an event to the automation's private link, it starts.
It opens your log file in Dropbox and adds a new line with the time, the event name and its details.
The updated file is saved back to Dropbox. If the file changed in the meantime, it won't overwrite someone else's edit.

Before it runs live

Connect Dropbox
Paste your automation's link into the other app's webhook settings

What you get

RunsThe moment it happens

Keep a running event log in Dropboxjust nowSucceeded

Dropbox · /Logs/events.csv2026-10-19T14:02:11Z,signup,"{""plan"": ""free"", ""company"": ""Acme""}"

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

Your own rules
Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.
Any number of apps
One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.
AI where it helps
Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.
On a schedule or on each event
Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
Add an AI step, for example to summarize, sort or draft a reply
Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
Combine it with other Dropbox steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.

append_events_to_a_log_file.pyexample

import csv, io, json
from clickruntime import on_event, http, credentials

PATH = "/Logs/events.csv"

@on_event
def handle(event):
    body = event.json or {}
    auth = {"Authorization": "Bearer " + credentials.connection("dropbox", "main")}
    resp = http.post("https://content.dropboxapi.com/2/files/download", headers={**auth, "Dropbox-API-Arg": json.dumps({"path": PATH})})
    current = resp.text if resp.ok else "time,event,payload\n"
    mode = {".tag": "update", "update": json.loads(resp.headers["Dropbox-API-Result"])["rev"]} if resp.ok else {".tag": "add"}
    line = io.StringIO()
    csv.writer(line).writerow([event.received_at, body.get("event", "unknown"), json.dumps(body)])
    http.post("https://content.dropboxapi.com/2/files/upload", headers={**auth, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream",
        "Dropbox-API-Arg": json.dumps({"path": PATH, "mode": mode})}, data=(current + line.getvalue()).encode()).raise_for_status()
    return {"logged": body.get("event")}

FAQ

Common questions

Is the log safe if two events arrive at once?

The automation checks the file revision before uploading. If another event changed the file in between, it downloads the new version and tries again, so lines are not overwritten and the log stays complete even when many events arrive in the same second.

Will the file get too big over time?

A text log grows slowly, and a file with tens of thousands of lines is still manageable. For very high volume, tell your AI assistant to start a new file each month so the log stays easy to open.

Can each line include a timestamp?

Yes. A timestamp can be added to every line automatically, along with whichever fields your events carry, such as an order number or a status. That makes the log sortable by time even when events are sent from several different tools.

What permissions does it need?

files.content.read, files.content.write. Nothing else in your accounts is used.

Does it need AI?

No. It runs without AI, so it doesn't use your plan's AI allowance.

How many runs does it use?

One run for each event the app sends.

Can I change how it works?

Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Daily