Data sources

Connect Informly to external systems like Slack, Salesforce, and Google Drive to sync documents into your library automatically and keep them up to date.

A data source is an external system Informly pulls documents from automatically. Instead of downloading files and uploading them by hand, you authorize Informly once in the provider's window and it keeps your library in sync as content changes on the other side. This is how teams keep an AI knowledge base from going stale.

Open data sources from the sidebar by going to Data Sources.

What you can connect

Informly supports a growing list of integrations. Some of the systems available today include:

Slack — pull messages and files from channels you authorize.
Salesforce — sync articles and records that should be answerable.
Google Drive — index documents from folders you select.

The exact list available in your organization depends on your plan. Open Data Sources → New source to see what you can connect right now.

How a connection works

Most sources use OAuth, so you never share a password with Informly.

Open the connector

Go to Data Sources → New source and pick the provider you want to connect.

Authorize Informly

A window opens in the provider — sign in there and approve the access Informly is requesting. The provider then sends you back to Informly automatically.

Scope the sync

Pick the channels, folders, or objects Informly should sync. Keeping the scope tight makes the first sync faster and avoids ingesting noise.

Save

Informly kicks off the first sync. Files start appearing in your document library as they're processed.

Files pulled in by a data source show up as regular documents. They go through the same Pending → Processing → Completed pipeline as files you upload by hand, and you assign them to widgets the same way.

Status badges

Every connected source shows a status so you can spot problems at a glance:

Status	What it means
Connected	OAuth is valid and the source is ready. No sync currently running.
Syncing	A sync is in progress. New or changed files are being pulled in.
Error	Something is wrong — credentials revoked, scope removed, or the provider is down.

Click any source in error state to see the underlying reason and the suggested fix.

Sync controls

Two manual controls live on the source detail page.

Control	Use it when
Sync now	You want the latest changes immediately instead of waiting for the next scheduled run.
Test connection	You suspect credentials are broken and want to verify without pulling anything.

Test connection checks that Informly can still authenticate with the provider — it does not move any files. Sync now triggers a full refresh.

The Files tab

Each connected source has a Files tab that lists every document pulled in by that source. From here you can:

See which files have been ingested and their current document status.
Click through to a file's full document detail page.
Spot which files failed to process and why.

The Files tab is the quickest way to confirm a connection is doing what you expect.

Disconnecting a source

When you no longer want a source to sync, disconnect it from the source detail page.

Open the source

Go to Data Sources and click the source you want to remove.

Click Disconnect

Confirm in the dialog. Informly revokes the OAuth tokens with the provider.

Disconnecting stops the automatic refresh, but existing documents stay in your library. They keep answering in chat with whatever content they had on the last sync. If you also want the documents gone, delete them from the library after disconnecting.

Choosing between a data source and a manual upload

Situation	Pick
Content changes regularly in another system	Data source
One-off file you don't expect to update	File upload
Public page on the open web	Web crawl
Internal pages behind a login Informly can OAuth into	Data source