Connections

What a connection is

A connection stores authentication credentials for a third-party service — an API key, OAuth tokens, AWS keys, a bearer token, or basic auth — so they're created once and reused across steps and workflows instead of re-entering credentials each time.

Creating a connection

• Pick a provider from the catalog (grouped by category — AI, Commerce, Data & Search, ERP & Finance, File Transfer, Fraud, Generic, Identity & Cloud, Marketing & CRM, Messaging, Payments & Tax, Shipping) or a generic auth method (OAuth, OAuth Client Credentials, Bearer Token, API Key, Basic Auth, AWS) when there's no dedicated provider.
• Give it a name.
• Fill in the fields for that type. For OAuth-style connections (OAuth, Slack, Google, Royal Mail, FedEx, Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct), saving opens an authorization popup to complete the flow immediately.
• Secret fields (API keys, tokens, passwords) are encrypted and never shown again after saving — editing an existing connection shows them locked, with an explicit "Override" action to replace a value.

Using a connection in a workflow

A step doesn't reference a connection directly. Instead:

1. Create a workflow variable of type connection (optionally scoped to one or more connection types), bound to a default connection.
2. A connector step whose action requires authentication shows a Connection Variable picker, filtered to variables compatible with that connector — pick the variable there, or choose "None" to supply auth via request headers instead (e.g. a generic HTTP step calling an API that needs no stored credential).

This indirection means a step is wired to a named variable, not a specific connection record — pointing that variable at a different connection updates every step that uses it, without editing each one.

Managing connections

• Test — verify a connection's credentials actually work against the provider before relying on it in a workflow.
• Activate / deactivate — take a connection out of use without deleting it.
• Delete — permanently removes it; a connection tracks which workflows reference it, so check those first.