Adding a new authentication method

Introduction

The connector builder supports a range of authentication types. Before a connector can be used (i.e. before instances of it can be added for use in process flows) you must add at least one authentication method for your connector.

The steps and settings required will vary depending on which authentication type you choose to configure, but the general process is straightforward.

Please refer to your API documentation for specific authentication requirements for your own third-party application.

What you need to do

General steps are provided below, with links to detailed guidance for each of our supported authentication types.

Step 1 Click the add new authentication method button:

Step 2 You're prompted to enter some basic details for this authentication method:

Complete these details using the table below as a guide:

Field	Summary
Enter a name	Enter the name to be displayed for this connector throughout Patchworks.
Select authentication type	Use the dropdown list to select the required authentication type. The selection made here determines subsequent settings and default options.

Step 3 Click the create button to confirm your updates. Basic details are saved and additional setup options are displayed over a series of 'metro stop' tabs - for example:

Step 4 Step through each tab and set configuration options as appropriate for your chosen authentication method.

Configuring an authentication method

For any authentication method, the following configuration options are available:

Authentication variables

Define authentication variables for any values that you need users to provide when they choose to add an instance of this connector (for use in process flows). Here, you define how fields for these variables are displayed to your users (so they can provide required values), and then how these details are passed in API requests for authentication.

Required variables depend on your selected authentication type - refer to the API documentation for the underlying third-party application for guidance on this.

For more information about working with authentication variables generally, please see the Auth variables page. For guidance on configuring specific authentication types, please see our Supported authentication types section.

Connector variables

These are 'shared' variables that can be used when defining authentication methods and endpoints for your connector. So, if you have a variable that might be used in multiple authentication methods, or multiple endpoints, or both - define them here for quick access later.

For more information about working with connector variables generally, please see the Connector variables page. For guidance on configuring specific authentication types, please see our Supported authentication types section.

URL parameters

URL parameters are used to apply queries/filters to authentication requests. In reality, URL parameters are not commonly used in authentication methods because it's very easy to just apply queries to the request URL directly.

For more information about working with URL parameters generally, please see the URL parameters page. For guidance on configuring specific authentication types, please see our Supported authentication types section.

Header

Any variables that need to be passed in authentication request headers should be added here, as per the .

For more information about working with header variables generally, please see the Header page. For guidance on configuring specific authentication types, please see our Supported authentication types section.

Body

Any variables that need to be passed in the authentication request body should be added here, as per the API documentation for the underlying third-party application.

For more information about working with body options generally, please see the Body page. For guidance on configuring specific authentication types, please see our Supported authentication types section.

Pre-request script

Pre-request scripts allow you to modify authentication request parameters before sending the actual request. You can set dynamic values, compute signatures, or add headers based on specific conditions.

For more information please see the Pre-request script page.

Post-request script

Post-request scripts are useful for manipulating the response data before displaying or using it. You can extract specific values, format data, or even perform calculations. This helps in preparing the response data for further requests, or for displaying in a more user-friendly manner.

For more information please see the Pre-request script page.