About Connector Builder

UiPath Connector Builder is a powerful tool that allows developers to create custom connectors for various APIs, that aren’t available in the Integration Service connector catalog. These connectors can be used to integrate external services and data into UiPath workflows, enhancing automation capabilities by connecting to a wide range of applications and services.

Connector Builder provides a user-friendly interface to define the connection settings, authentication methods, and specific actions or queries that can be performed through the API. It supports different types of authentications such as API Key, OAuth, and client credentials, making it versatile for various API security requirements. Custom connectors expose the API resources automatically as activities within Studio, allowing you to use them within your automation workflows.

When to use Connector Builder

Once you start building workflows using external data, you might run into scenarios where UiPath® has no prebuilt connectors or activities to help you solve a particular problem. Connector Builder allows you to add connectors to your catalog that are important to you, your co-workers, and your business processes.

A connector built through Connector Builder leverages the Integration Service framework for other connectors providing high re-usability within your workflows. It seamlessly connects with the larger UiPath ecosystem (Studio, Orchestrator, Assistant, etc.) and you can use the activities created for this connector just like any other activities.

Key features

Here are the main characteristics of Connector Builder:

1. Easy integration: Connector Builder simplifies the integration of external APIs by providing a visual interface to configure the connection and define the operations.
2. Authentication handling: Connector Builder supports multiple authentication mechanisms, allowing secure connections to different APIs.
3. Custom activities: Connector Builder enables the creation of custom activities based on API operations, which can be used directly in UiPath Studio Desktop, Studio Web, and StudioX.
4. Parameter handling: Connector Builder allows defining input and output parameters for API calls, making‌ data manipulation more straightforward.
5. Error handling: Connector Builder includes options to define error handling mechanisms to manage exceptions that might occur during API interactions.

Prerequisites

Connector Builder connects to external systems through their API, so the vendor API must be publicly exposed. This means that the APIs domain must allow for DNS resolution.

The vendor API must be REST-compliant and both accept and return JSON.

To authenticate and test a vendor API, make sure that you have the necessary permissions and access.

Tip: The vendor API documentation is extremely useful in providing details on authentication methods, available resources, request parameters, and fields. This information is required for completing a successful connector.

You must use Studio Desktop 2023.10 or above to consume the activities for your connector.

Getting started

To use Connector Builder, you need to access Integration Service and select Connector Builder. From there, you can:

1. Create a new connector: Start by specifying the API endpoint and authentication details.

2. Configure authentication: Choose the authentication method required by the API and provide the necessary credentials.

3. Define operations: Set up the API operations you want to automate, such as GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE requests.

4. Set up parameters: Define the necessary input and output parameters for each API operation.

5. Test and validate: Before deploying, test the connector to ensure it works as expected.

6. Deploy and use: Once validated, deploy and use the connector within UiPath workflows.