Managing Connectors

A workspace has its own set of installed connectors. Sources and destinations are built on them, and the Add Source and Add Destination pages offer only installed connectors. Manage them under Settings > Connectors, which has three tabs: Sources, Destinations and Repositories. For what a connector is and how it runs, see Connectors & Airbyte Protocol.

Action	Who
View installed connectors and repositories	Everyone
Star, add custom, update and delete connectors	Editors and admins
Add, sync and delete repositories	Admins

Installed Connectors

The Sources and Destinations tabs list the installed connectors of each type with their name, Docker image, tag and available update. Narrow the list with the repository filter (All repositories, one repository, or Custom for connectors added by image) and the Search connectors… box.

How Connectors Get Installed

Connectors are installed from repositories. When a repository syncs, every connector in its registry that the workspace does not have yet is installed, at the version the registry lists. A new workspace gets the Airbyte OSS and Synclet repositories, so their catalogs appear after the first sync. If Add Source says No source connectors installed yet in a new workspace, that first sync may still be running.

A connector you delete is installed again on the next sync of its repository, as long as the registry still lists it.

Stars and Used Connectors

Click the star next to a connector, here or on the Add Source and Add Destination pages, to mark it. Stars are shared by the whole workspace, and only editors and admins can set them. On the add pages, Starred shows only starred connectors.

The add pages also group connectors: those that at least one source or destination of the workspace is built on come first, under Used in this workspace, and the rest under Other connectors.

Updating Connectors

When the repository lists a different tag than the installed one, the Update column shows that version and an Update button. Updating sets the connector’s tag and configuration spec to the repository’s version. Every source or destination built on the connector uses the new version from its next run.

If the registry declares breaking changes between the installed and the new version, Update opens Breaking Changes Detected first. It lists each breaking version with its message and a Migration guide link when the registry has one. Click Update Anyway to update, or Keep Current Version to leave it.

Update All (N) updates every connector with an available update that matches the repository filter and search, sources and destinations alike. Those without breaking changes are updated at once; for each one with breaking changes, the same dialog opens in turn so you can confirm or skip it.

Breaking changes are detected only when both tags are semantic versions, such as 3.0.23.

Only connectors installed from a repository can be updated this way. To move a custom connector to another tag, add it again with the new tag.

Deleting a Connector

Click Delete and confirm. A connector that a source or destination is built on cannot be deleted: the error says how many depend on it. Delete or move those first.

Custom Images

Any Docker image that implements the Airbyte protocol can be installed directly, for example a connector you build yourself:

1. On the Sources or Destinations tab, click Add Custom.
2. Enter the Docker Image (for example ghcr.io/acme/source-billing), the Tag (latest by default), a Name, and the Type.
3. Click Add Connector.

Synclet runs the image’s spec command before saving it, so the dialog waits until the image has been pulled and has answered. If spec fails, the connector is not added and the dialog shows the error.

A custom connector appears under the Custom repository filter. Synclet does not track new versions of it. To publish your own connectors with versions and updates instead, put them in a registry and add it as a repository; see Publishing a connector.

Connector Repositories

A repository is a registry URL that lists connectors with their images, versions and specs. The Repositories tab lists each one with its URL, Status (synced or failed, with the error under the URL), number of Connectors and Last Synced time.

Default repository	Registry URL
Airbyte OSS	https://connectors.airbyte.com/files/registries/v0/oss_registry.json
Synclet	https://synclet-io.github.io/connectors/registry.json

Both are added to every new workspace and can be deleted like any other. Most of Airbyte’s connectors are under ELv2; read Connector licenses before you rely on one.

Adding a Repository

1. Click Add Repository.
2. Choose a Repository Preset: Airbyte OSS, or Custom to enter a Name and a Registry URL.
3. For a private registry, enter the Auth Header: the value Synclet sends as the Authorization header, such as Bearer <token>. It is stored encrypted.
4. Click Add Repository.

Syncing

Synclet syncs every repository in the background once an hour (PIPELINE_JOB_REPOSITORY_SYNC_INTERVAL, see Background job intervals). Sync Now on a repository’s row syncs it right away. A sync refreshes the repository’s list of connectors and versions, which is where update availability comes from, and installs the connectors the workspace does not have yet. If the registry cannot be fetched, the repository is marked failed with the error and its previous list is kept.

Deleting a Repository

Click Delete and confirm. The installed connectors that came from it stay, along with the sources and destinations built on them, but lose their repository link: they are no longer updated and show under the Custom filter.

Next Steps

• Sources and Destinations — Build on the installed connectors.
• Writing a connector — Build your own connector image.
• Connector licenses — Licenses of the connector images.