> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tai42.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect an OAuth provider

> Wire an OAuth connector end to end.

Wire an OAuth connector end to end so tools can call an authenticated third-party API.

A connector is an OAuth connection to an outside app. A connector provider ships as a plugin that declares the provider's OAuth endpoints and sub-services; the connector engine drives the authorize flow, stores the tokens, and launches the provider's sub-service MCP servers. This guide covers the platform flow — loading a provider, running the connect flow, and using the connection. Provider-specific setup (the OAuth app to register, the client-credential environment variables) lives in that provider's own repository README.

## Load a connector provider

A connector provider registers when the manifest imports its module. Add the provider's module to a `lifecycle_modules` entry (importing it calls `tai42_app.connectors.register_connector`).

```yaml manifest.yml theme={null}
lifecycle_modules:
  - tai42_connector.google.core.connector
```

Set the provider's client-credential environment variables on the server process — each provider names them in its README. With the module loaded and the credentials present, list the available providers:

```bash theme={null}
tai connectors providers
```

## Run the connect flow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a connection">
    Name the provider, give the connection a unique alias, and enable one or more sub-services. The command prints the authorize URL.

    ```bash theme={null}
    tai connectors connect google --alias work --sub-service gmail
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authorize">
    Open the printed authorize URL in a browser and grant consent. The provider redirects back to the server's callback, which exchanges the code and stores the tokens under the alias.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the connection">
    List the installed connections (no secrets are printed).

    ```bash theme={null}
    tai connectors connections
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

Change which sub-services a connection exposes with `tai connectors sub-services`, re-authorize with `tai connectors reconnect`, and remove a connection with `tai connectors disconnect`.

<Note>
  A connector provider carries no OAuth, probe, or launch code — it is pure descriptor data. The connector engine drives the whole flow generically from that descriptor. To build one, see [Author a connector](/guides/authors/connector).
</Note>

## See also

* [Connectors](/concepts/connectors) — what a connector is and how the engine drives it.
* [Author a connector](/guides/authors/connector) — build a provider plugin.
* [Ecosystem catalog](/reference/catalog) — the shipped connector providers and their repositories.
* [CLI reference](/reference/cli) — the full `tai connectors` surface.