twenty/packages/twenty-docs/developers/extend/apps/connections.mdx

---
title: Connections
description: Let your app act on a user's behalf in third-party services via OAuth.
icon: 'plug'
---

Connections are credentials a user holds for an external service (Linear, GitHub, Slack, ...). Your app declares **how** those credentials are obtained — a **connection provider** — and consumes them at runtime to make authenticated calls to the third-party API.

Today only OAuth 2.0 is supported. Future credential types (personal access tokens, API keys, basic auth) will plug into the same surface — apps already using `defineConnectionProvider({ type: 'oauth', ... })` won't need to migrate.

<AccordionGroup>

<Accordion title="defineConnectionProvider" description="Declare how your app's connections are obtained">

A connection provider describes the OAuth handshake your app needs. The user clicks "Add connection" in your app's settings, completes the provider's consent screen, and a `ConnectedAccount` row is created in their workspace.

A working setup needs **two files** — the connection provider, and a matching `serverVariables` declaration on `defineApplication` that holds the OAuth client credentials.

```ts src/connection-providers/linear-connection.ts
import { defineConnectionProvider } from 'twenty-sdk/define';

export default defineConnectionProvider({
  universalIdentifier: '9c7d1f5e-6a0b-4d44-be0c-3f8b5a9d4e6f',
  name: 'linear',
  displayName: 'Linear',
  icon: 'IconBrandLinear',
  type: 'oauth',
  oauth: {
    authorizationEndpoint: 'https://linear.app/oauth/authorize',
    tokenEndpoint: 'https://api.linear.app/oauth/token',
    scopes: ['read', 'write'],
    // These must match keys in `defineApplication.serverVariables` below.
    clientIdVariable: 'LINEAR_CLIENT_ID',
    clientSecretVariable: 'LINEAR_CLIENT_SECRET',
    // Optional: defaults to 'json'. Some providers (Linear, Slack) want
    // 'form-urlencoded' for the token request.
    tokenRequestContentType: 'form-urlencoded',
    // Optional: defaults to true. Disable only if the provider rejects PKCE.
    usePkce: false,
    // Optional: extra query params on the authorize URL.
    // authorizationParams: { prompt: 'consent' },
    // Optional: provider's RFC 7009 token revocation endpoint, called on disconnect.
    // revokeEndpoint: 'https://example.com/oauth/revoke',
  },
});
```

```ts src/application.config.ts
import { defineApplication } from 'twenty-sdk/define';

export default defineApplication({
  universalIdentifier: '...',
  displayName: 'Linear',
  description: 'Connect Linear to Twenty.',
  defaultRoleUniversalIdentifier: '...',
  // OAuth client credentials live on the app registration (one OAuth app per
  // Twenty server, configured by the admin) — not per-workspace. Declare them
  // as serverVariables so the admin can fill them in once for all installs.
  serverVariables: {
    LINEAR_CLIENT_ID: {
      description: 'OAuth client ID from your Linear OAuth application.',
      isSecret: false,
      isRequired: true,
    },
    LINEAR_CLIENT_SECRET: {
      description: 'OAuth client secret from your Linear OAuth application.',
      isSecret: true,
      isRequired: true,
    },
  },
});
```

Key points:

- `name` is the unique identifier string used in `listConnections({ providerName })` (kebab-case, must match `^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$`).
- `displayName` shows in the per-app settings tab and in the AI tool list.
- `clientIdVariable` / `clientSecretVariable` are **names**, not values — they must match keys declared in `defineApplication.serverVariables`. The actual `client_id` and `client_secret` are entered by the server admin through the app registration UI, never committed to your repo.
- Use `serverVariables` (not `applicationVariables`) — OAuth credentials are server-wide and one OAuth app per Twenty server.
- Until both `serverVariables` are filled in, the per-app settings tab shows a "needs server admin" hint and the "Add connection" button is disabled.
- `type: 'oauth'` is the only supported value today. The discriminator is forward-compatible: future types (`'pat'`, `'api-key'`, ...) will add new sub-config blocks alongside `oauth`.

The OAuth callback URL your provider needs to whitelist is:

```
https://<your-twenty-server>/apps/oauth/callback
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="listConnections / getConnection" description="Use connections from a logic function">

Inside a logic function handler, `listConnections({ providerName })` returns this app's `ConnectedAccount` rows for the given provider, with refreshed access tokens.

```ts src/logic-functions/handlers/create-linear-issue-handler.ts
import { listConnections } from 'twenty-sdk/logic-function';

export const createLinearIssueHandler = async (input: {
  teamId?: string;
  title?: string;
}) => {
  if (!input.teamId || !input.title) {
    return { success: false, error: 'teamId and title are required' };
  }

  const connections = await listConnections({ providerName: 'linear' });

  // Workspace-shared credentials win when present; fall back to the first
  // user-visibility one. For HTTP-route triggers you typically pick the
  // request user's connection via event.userWorkspaceId instead.
  const connection =
    connections.find((c) => c.visibility === 'workspace') ?? connections[0];

  if (!connection) {
    return {
      success: false,
      error:
        'Linear is not connected. Open the app settings and click "Add connection".',
    };
  }

  // Use connection.accessToken to call the third-party API.
  const response = await fetch('https://api.linear.app/graphql', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${connection.accessToken}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      query: `mutation { issueCreate(input: { teamId: "${input.teamId}", title: "${input.title}" }) { success } }`,
    }),
  });

  return { success: response.ok };
};
```

Each connection has:

| Field             | Description                                                                                              |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `id`              | Unique row id; pass to `getConnection(id)` to refetch a single one                                       |
| `visibility`      | `'user'` (private to one workspace member) or `'workspace'` (shared with all members)                    |
| `scopes`          | OAuth permissions granted by the upstream provider (distinct from `visibility` — those are unrelated)    |
| `userWorkspaceId` | The owner's userWorkspace id — useful for picking "the request user's connection" in HTTP-route triggers |
| `accessToken`     | Fresh OAuth access token (refreshed automatically if expired)                                            |
| `name` / `handle` | The connection's display name (auto-derived at OAuth callback, user-renameable)                          |
| `authFailedAt`    | Set when the most recent refresh failed; the user must reconnect                                         |

Key points:

- Pass `{ providerName }` to filter by provider; omit it to get all connections this app owns across all providers.
- The server transparently refreshes the access token before returning. Your handler always sees a usable token (or `authFailedAt` set).
- `getConnection(id)` is the single-row equivalent.

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Per-user vs workspace-shared visibility" description="How users choose between private and shared credentials">

When a user clicks "Add connection," they're prompted to pick a visibility:

- **Just for me** — the credential is private to the connecting user. Any logic function called on their behalf (HTTP-route trigger with `isAuthRequired: true`) sees it; cron triggers and database events do not.
- **Workspace shared** — any workspace member can use the credential. Cron / database triggers also see it, since they have no request user.

Use the right one for each handler:

```ts
// HTTP-route trigger — prefer the request user's own connection.
const conn =
  connections.find((c) => c.userWorkspaceId === event.userWorkspaceId) ??
  connections.find((c) => c.visibility === 'workspace');

// Cron trigger — no request user; only shared credentials are sensible.
const conn = connections.find((c) => c.visibility === 'workspace');
```

Multiple connections per (user, provider) are allowed, so the same user can hold "Personal Linear" and "Work Linear" side by side.

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="One-time provider setup" description="Register your OAuth app with the third-party service">

For each connection provider, the server admin needs to register an OAuth app at the third party first.

1. Go to the provider's developer settings (e.g. https://linear.app/settings/api/applications/new).
2. Set the **Redirect URI** to `<SERVER_URL>/apps/oauth/callback`.
3. Copy the generated **Client ID** and **Client Secret**.
4. Open the installed app in Twenty as a server admin → set the values on the corresponding `serverVariables`.
5. Workspace members can then add connections from the per-app **Connections** section.

</Accordion>

</AccordionGroup>