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Add a source

A Source is a configured connection to an external system. Every API call OpenConnector makes — through a synchronization, an endpoint proxy, or a scheduled job — references a Source for the base URL, authentication, and connection defaults.

Goal​

By the end you will have created a Source pointing at an external REST API and confirmed the connection by running a test call.

Prerequisites​

  • You have completed Open OpenConnector for the first time.
  • You know the base URL of the external system and one valid endpoint to test against.
  • You have the credentials for whichever authentication method the external system uses (API key, OAuth client, basic auth, …).

Steps​

  1. From the navigation, click Sources and then Add Source.

    Sources list with Add Source button

  2. Fill in the basics in the Add Source dialog: a clear Name (it appears in dropdowns when you build mappings and syncs), the Location (base URL), and the Type (json for most REST APIs, xml / soap / ftp for the other source kinds).

    Add Source dialog

  3. Save. The Source appears in the list. Click its row to open the detail view, then move to the Configuration tab to add headers, authentication and connection defaults.

    Source detail view

  4. Open the Test action on the source's detail page. Enter a known-good path (e.g. /health or any read-only GET) and run the call. The right-hand panel shows the response code, headers and body — confirming the source is reachable.

    Source test call

  5. The call is recorded in the Source Logs for that source. Open the Logs sub-entry under Sources in the navigation to confirm the call was logged with the response code you expected.

    Source logs

Verification​

You are done when: the source appears in the Sources list, a test call against a known-good endpoint returns a 2xx response, and that call shows up in the Source Logs with the same status code.

Common issues​

SymptomFix
Test call returns 401 UnauthorizedAuthentication header or OAuth token is wrong — check Configuration → Authentication on the source.
Test call hangs and times outThe Nextcloud instance can't reach the source's host — check firewall / VPN / DNS from the server, not from your laptop.
Test call returns 200 but the response body is emptyThe source returned no payload for that path — try a different endpoint or check if the source wraps responses in an envelope you need to unwrap with resultsPosition.

Reference​