Data connectors
A data connector gives an agent read access to an external system. You create it once, Studio keeps the credentials in AWS Secrets Manager in your deployment's account, and you attach it to an agent in its Configure dialog; until then nothing reads from it.
The five types
| Type as shown | What the agent gets | Use it when | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQL Database | Read-only queries against PostgreSQL or MySQL with a username and password | The data is in a relational database reachable over TLS | SQL connectors |
| Snowflake | Read access as a Snowflake service user, with a programmatic access token or a key pair | The data is in Snowflake | Snowflake connector |
| REST API | Calls to an HTTP API described by an OpenAPI specification, credentials as headers or query parameters | The system exposes a documented API | REST / OpenAPI connector |
| MCP Server | The tools of a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server over streamable HTTP, called directly as its own tools, with the tools you choose and approval for the ones that can change data | The system publishes MCP tools | MCP connector |
| AWS | An IAM role in an AWS account you own, assumed with a Studio-generated External ID | Agents need S3 or other AWS services, or a workflow reads files from a bucket | AWS connector |
SQL connectors are read-only at run time; the SQL page gives the loader pattern for processes that must write.
Steps
Open Data Connectors from the dock, click Create Connector, fill Connector Name, Description and Connector Guide (writing the guide), then follow the row for your type above. Once saved, add it to an agent in Configure (Agents: configure and activate).
Internal services on a private deployment
On a private deployment, connectors and agent code reach your internal APIs and databases over your Transit Gateway, but only inside the internal service ranges an administrator lists under Network on the deployment's Overview in Organisations (agent code also only on port 443 and the approved ports). For REST, MCP and the web browsing tool, Studio checks every address a host resolves to when you save and on every call, and every redirect before it is followed:
- a public address is allowed;
- a private address is allowed only inside a listed range;
- always refused, whatever the list says: the deployment's own VPC range, loopback,
169.254.0.0/16(instance metadata and task credentials), multicast, reserved and unspecified addresses, and the metadata hostnames.
A refusal names the host and why, for example "<host> resolves to <ip>, a private address outside this deployment's approved internal ranges. An administrator can add its range on the deployment's Overview in Organisations." or "<host> resolves to <ip>, inside this deployment's own network. Connectors cannot reach it." A SQL host is reached only if its range is listed, because nothing else on your network is routed. When an administrator removes a range, connectors in it still list and open, and their calls are refused. A service whose certificate comes from your own CA needs that CA under Trusted certificate authorities on the deployment.
Credentials
Each connector's page shows how it signs in, after Credential:
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No credential | The system needs none (for example an MCP server with no authentication). |
| Service credential (this Studio) | A password, token, key or client secret stored for this connector in this Studio's AWS Secrets Manager. |
| AWS IAM role | A role in your AWS account that Studio assumes or signs with; nothing secret is pasted. |
| Each person signs in | Each person connects their own account or licence; Studio holds nothing for the connector but, for some sign-in apps, the app's client secret (Each person signs in to an MCP connector). |
| Managed by your organisation | The credential was entered in another Studio and relayed by your organisation's administrators through Organisations. You cannot change it here: Add credential is disabled with "Your organisation manages this credential." (Connector policy, credentials and activity). |
The credential belongs to this Studio and is never shared: a Library shares a connector's setup only (Libraries and sharing). Two labels tell you when to act, in the list and on the connector's page:
- Needs a credential: the setup is here but the credential is not, as on a connector downloaded from a Library. Click Add credential on its page, fill the fields the connector's type and sign-in method need ("Stored in AWS Secrets Manager for this Studio only. It is never shown again and never shared through a Library.") and Save credential; this adds no new version. For an AWS connector, or an MCP connector that assumes a role, the page instead points to Role setup: add this Studio's External ID to the role's trust policy, then test the connection; a passing test makes the connector Active.
- Copied credential: "This credential was copied from the Studio this connector was shared from. Replace it with your own." This marks a connector downloaded before Libraries stopped copying credentials. It keeps working; click Replace credential to store your own, and the label goes.
Expiry, health and your organisation's policy
- Expires on: Add credential takes an optional date. Studio warns within 7 days of it and again when it passes (Banners you may see). A new credential without a date clears it. A credential managed by your organisation shows its own Expires on date.
- Health: Studio checks each active MCP connector about every 15 minutes. The connector's page shows "Working, checked time" or "Not responding since time" with the reason in the Test Connection wording. A connector that needs a credential is not checked.
- Policy: your organisation's administrators can limit which MCP servers and sign-in methods may be used. A save that breaks the policy is refused with its reason, and an existing connector that breaks it shows the badge "Blocked by your organisation's policy." and the reason; agents cannot use it until the policy or the connector changes (Connector policy, credentials and activity).
- Your organisation shares this credential: on the Studio where it is entered, the page reads "Your organisation shares this credential with n deployments. Changing it here updates all of them."
What you should see
The connector appears in the list (Connector ID, Connector Name with its version, Connector Type, Status, Description, Updated At; 20 rows per page) as "(v1)", Active. Click the row to open it (Connector versions, Test Connection and guides).
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | Agents can use it. Saving sets this status. |
| Needs Attention | Set on a copy downloaded from a Library that cannot connect yet: it needs a credential in this Studio, or for an AWS role this Studio's External ID in the trust policy. The list shows Needs a credential in its place, and the detail page shows the reason. |
| Inactive | Disabled. Saving an update makes it Active again. |
Notes
- Limits: name 80 characters; description 1,000; guide counted in bytes, with "Large guides cost more per turn." above 50,000 characters; 12 credential rows (REST API, MCP Server); 256 connectors per user in a standard deployment, where Create Connector is disabled at the cap ("You've reached the limit of 256 data connectors."). A governed deployment lists everyone's connectors, so the server, not the form, refuses at the cap.
- Credentials are entered once, never shown again and never placed in a prompt. SQL, Snowflake, REST and AWS connectors receive theirs inside the agent's execution environment for each run; an MCP connector's credential never leaves Studio, which calls the server's tools itself, and a connector where each person signs in uses the invoking person's own connection. Every save creates a new immutable version; an agent pins a version until you move it.
- Test Connection saves nothing; a cross shows the service's reason. A refusal stays on screen if you then change Connector Type in the same form; reload the Create page to clear it. Create Connector (v1) stays disabled while a required field is empty, a counter is over its limit, or the type's gate is unmet (SQL and MCP need the enrich step and Accept & Use This Guide after a passing test).
- "Error loading connectors": reload. A downloaded copy's Needs attention banner gives the reason, "Add a credential to use this connector." or "Open Role setup to get this Studio's External ID, add it to the role's trust policy, then test the connection."