Fax From Box — Import-from-Link, Box Webhooks, and Our API
Box is a common home for the documents businesses fax, and it exposes shared links, webhooks, and a full API — enough to fax from Box without any app from us, which we do not list in the Box marketplace. The lightweight route hands a Box shared link to our import-from-link fetch. The event-driven route catches a Box webhook when a file lands in a folder and posts it to our REST API. The file stays governed in Box; only the fax goes out.
Plan requirement
Pasting a Box link at /dashboard/import works on any paid plan and needs no API access. Sending the same link through the REST API's document_url field — and the webhook-driven automation — requires the Business ($79.99/mo) or Enterprise ($169.99/mo) plan, since the API is gated to those tiers. Box webhooks and API access also depend on your Box plan and a Box app you register. A Box shared link must permit direct download for the fetch to retrieve the file.
How it works
For an occasional send, create a Box shared link with direct-download enabled and paste it into /dashboard/import or the document_url field of a /v1/faxes call; our server fetches the file behind an SSRF guard and normalizes it to a fax-ready PDF. For automation, register a Box app and subscribe a webhook to a folder's FILE.UPLOADED event. When Box notifies your listener, it reads the file's download URL (or downloads the bytes) and POSTs to /v1/faxes with the destination number. The fax id returns for logging, and a registered fax webhook records delivered or failed so Box and your fax history stay in sync.
What you can do
- ✓Fax a Box file by pasting its shared link into import-from-link
- ✓Auto-fax new uploads by subscribing a Box webhook to a folder
- ✓POST the file link or bytes to /v1/faxes from a listener you host
- ✓Let our server normalize the fetched file to a fax-ready PDF
- ✓Send inline content when a file must not use a public link
- ✓Log the fax id and reconcile status via a registered webhook
Setup steps
- 1For a manual send on any paid plan, create a Box shared link with direct download allowed
- 2Paste it at /dashboard/import with the destination number
- 3For automation, register a Box app and create a key at /dashboard/developers
- 4Subscribe a Box webhook to the folder and POST new files to /v1/faxes
- 5Record the fax id and register a fax webhook for delivered or failed
Example
POST /v1/faxes
Authorization: Bearer sfm_live_xxxxxxxx
Idempotency-Key: box-file-1187443
Content-Type: application/json
{
"to": "+15551234567",
"document_url": "https://app.box.com/shared/static/abc123.pdf"
}Box Fax — FAQ
No, and we would not imply there is. You use Box's own shared links, webhooks, and API to reach a file, then call our REST API or hand our server a link. The connection is a Box app and a listener you register, so the file stays under Box's governance while the fax goes out through us.
A shared link configured to allow direct download over public HTTPS, because our server must fetch the file itself. The fetch is SSRF-guarded and follows redirects safely. If a document should not be exposed by a link, download its bytes in your listener and send them inline as base64 to /v1/faxes instead.
Register a Box app, subscribe a webhook to the target folder's FILE.UPLOADED event, and have your listener POST each new file to /v1/faxes with a number drawn from the file's metadata or a lookup. Keep that folder dedicated to outgoing faxes so only intended documents trigger a send.
Yes. Store the fax id you get back against the Box file id, then register a fax webhook for fax.delivered and fax.failed. When an event arrives, match its fax id to the Box file and update your records, so a document in Box and its entry in your fax history always agree on status.
Build with the Box Fax
API access and webhooks are included on the Business and Enterprise plans. Create a key at /dashboard/developers and start sending.
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