Connections

About connections

Connections help in establishing tasks between single users and external applications. The connections are created once users authenticate with an API Provider.

Creating a connection

1. Access Automation Cloud^TM.
2. On the left-side menu, click on Integration Service. The Integration Service windows includes three separate tabs: Connectors, Connections, and Triggers. By default, the Connectors tab is selected.
   
   

   

   
   
   .
3. In the My Folders section you can select whether you want to work in your personal workspace, or in a shared folder, where created connections can be used by all users that have access to this folder.
   
   

   

   
   
4. Click the desired Connector to create a new connection or update an existing one.
5. Click Add Connection. Depending on the connector you have chosen, the specific credentials required for your connections are requested.

Note: To successfully create a connection, you must configure an IP addresses allow list for Integration Service. For more information, see Configuring the firewall in the Automation Cloud Admin Guide.

Shared connections

When a connection is created in a shared folder, all users with access to that folder can use the connection in their automation workflows. The connection can be edited by all users with access to it.

Note:

All the Integration Service connectors support connection sharing and configuration at run time. For more information on configuring connections at run time, see the Orchestrator User Guide.

Modifying connections

1. Access Automation Cloud^TM.
2. On the left-side menu, click on Integration Service. The Integration Service window includes three separate tabs: Connectors, Connections and Triggers.
3. Select the Folder you want to modify the connection in.
   Note: The folder you want to create the connection in can also be selected after step 4.

4. Go to the Connections tab, where the list of created connections is displayed.

5. Click the More button corresponding to the desired connection to modify it. You can perform the following actions:
   • Delete the connection.
   • Set it as default (this option is only available if you have several connections established for the same application.
   • Check the connection to verify its status.

Renaming connections

To rename a connection, you have to:

1. Access the Connections tab.
2. On the left-side menu, click on Integration Service. The Integration Service window includes separate tabs for Connectors, Connections and Triggers, along with a left navigation window displaying the folders.
3. Select the Folder you want to modify the connection in.
   Note: The folder can be selected after step 4.
4. Go to the Connections tab, where the list of created connections is displayed.
5. Hover with the mouse cursor over the name of the connection you wish to modify, and you should now see the Edit button displayed.
   Note: Alternatively, you can select your connection from the list to access the detailed view. The Edit button is located on the right side of your connection name.
6. Click the Edit button and you can choose a new name for your connection.

Multi-authentication

You can configure multi-authentication options for supported connectors in Integration Service. This allows you to select alternate methods of authenticating prior to creating a connection.

To create a connection using multi-authentication, you must perform the following steps:

1. In Integration Service, from the Connectors list, select a supported connector.
2. Select the Add connection button. You are now redirected to the page where you can create a connection.
3. Click the ⚙ icon to change your Authentication type.
4. Select your preferred authentication method.
5. Enter the required credentials and click Connect.

Bring your own OAuth 2.0 app

The authentication experience enables you to use the Bring your own OAuth 2.0 app (BYOA) option for connectors that support OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code. This allows you to select a private application when authenticating prior to making your connection.

To create a connection using the Bring your own OAuth 2.0 app method, you need the following credentials:

• Client ID
• Client secret

Note:

If your organization uses BYOA, you can set default values for these credentials through an Integration Service governance policy in Automation Ops. For more information, see Settings for Integration Service policies.

When you create a private OAuth application with a third-party, follow the specific third-party documentation to set it up. Make sure you set the Redirect URI (or callback URL) for your application to: https://cloud.uipath.com/provisioning_/callback.

To create a connection to your private OAuth 2.0 application, perform the following steps:

1. Select Integration Service from Automation Cloud^TM.

2. From the Connectors list, select a supported connector. You can also use the search bar to narrow down the connector.

3. Select the Add connection button.

4. You are now redirected to the connection page.

5. Click the ⚙ icon to change your Authentication type.

6. Select Bring your own OAuth 2.0 app from the dropdown menu.

7. Enter your Client ID and Client secret and select Connect.

Note:

For OAuth 2.0 app connections, we encrypt and store the authentication token, but don’t use it to access any client data.

Connections in Solutions Management

You can manage connections and event triggers as part of your solution package. See the Solutions Management overview to learn what solution packages are, how they work, and how to create, manage, and deploy them.

When you create a solution package, connections and their associated event triggers are available in the Components panel. You can edit the following properties: Connection name, Connection description, and Authentication type. For event triggers, you can perform the same configuration steps as in Orchestrator.

Note: You can also edit these fields at the time of deployment unless they are locked for editing.

Once the solution is built and published, the connections are available in the solution's Components panel. All the connections selected when creating the solution package can now be deployed.

Important: Solutions Management does not display connections for processes unless an event trigger is connected as well. The issue may impact the solution deployment, requiring manual connection configuration for proper operation.

You can choose to deploy the solution package to a specific folder which doesn't yet exist in Integration Service. In this case, the folder is created automatically.

Connection Authentication type

As an admin, you decide during deployment whether to use an existing connection, create a new one, or allow the end user to select the connection.

Note:

Solutions Management moves the connections and their associated entity relations (such as workflows and processes the connection belongs to), but does not transfer authentication credentials.

During deployment, the administrator can set the Authentication type as:

• Configurable by users: No connections are created or used from existing ones. Users are expected to configure the connection after the solution is deployed at runtime. See Configuring connections in the Orchestrator documentation.

• Authenticate after deployment is done: A new connection is created and it requires authentication after the deployment. The connection remains inactive until the authentication step is completed.
  • Before the authentication is completed, the username is displayed as System. Once authentication is successful, the username is updated to display the authenticator's credentials.

You also have the option of linking components. When you select Link to existing, a pop-up window displays all the connections accessible to the user deploying the solution package. You can choose any existing connection to be part of the solution package.

Note: If you select existing connections for the connectors included in the solution package, and you also select a new folder during deployment, the folder is created in Integration Service, with no connections in it. Use this folder if preferences are modified or new connections are added.

The Link to existing option is not available when you edit a configuration using the following methods: Deployment configuration or Edit deployment configuration. To link components or edit the Authentication type after deployment, you must upgrade the solution package. This requires editing the solution and deploying the new version again.

Important:

Connections created in any folder through Solutions Management are not deleted, even when upgrading the workflow to use different connections. This guarantees that processes and automations relying on these connections are not impacted by the upgrade.