Box Inc. has long enabled developers to integrate their services with its file sharing platform, but it has had to implement much of the necessary application logic from scratch. Today, that’s changing.

The collaboration giant has unveiled a set of development building blocks called Elements for creating third-party services with content management features. It’s set to include three separate module bundles, the first of which became available today on GitHub. Dubbed Elements UI, the series is meant to ease the implementation of front-end controls for accessing Box.

The first module is called Content Upload and can be used to let users drag and drop files into an application. It’s complemented by Content Explorer and Content Picker, which provide the ability to interact with a document once it’s in the Box account to which a service is connected. 

Rounding out the lineup is Content Preview, a tool that enables developers to display more than 120 different kinds of files in their applications without having to manually add support for each. That includes popular image formats, videos and 3D models to name a few.

According to TechCrunch, the other two module bundles in the Elements lineup will plug into Box’s more advanced content management features and automation tools. The company presumably hopes that reducing the amount of work involved in implementing integrations will help grow developer adoption. More applications using Box to store data would in turn drive up demand for storage capacity, which could give it a valuable revenue boost amid the fierce competition from Dropbox Inc., Google Inc. and other rivaling services. 

Box seems to be on the right track: More than 100,000 developers are currently using its platform for various projects. Several of the company’s higher-profile partners, most notably Facebook Inc. and mobile publishing startup Pressly Inc., have already adopted Element AI.

Image: Box