Connect an integration

An integration is a link between AppHandle and an account you already have elsewhere, such as Google, Slack, or Notion. You connect it once from your own account, and every app you own can then use that service. You never copy a password or a key into your app.

What an integration is

When you connect a service, you sign in to it directly and approve what AppHandle may do on your behalf. The service then issues a permission, and AppHandle keeps it safely on its side. Your app never holds that permission and never sees it. When the app needs something from the service, AppHandle makes the request using your connection and returns only the result.

Connections belong to your account, not to a single app. You connect once, and every app you own can use that service.

Who can use a connection

You, and the people you invite to edit the app, can use a connection. The people who visit or sign in to your app never do. They never see your login, and they cannot make the app act as you.

A public app cannot use connections at all. If an app should use one, make the app private first. The Access card in Settings → Publish says so while an app is public.

Services you can connect

The services listed under Integrations in your account are the ones available to you. Not every service AppHandle supports is switched on for every account, so that list is what to go by:

• Google: Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Google Forms, Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Workspace (one approval for Sheets, Drive, Gmail, and Calendar together)
• Documents and files: Notion, Airtable
• Communication and projects: Slack, GitHub

More services — among them Figma, Dropbox, Trello, Canva, Shopify, and Supabase — appear in the same place as they are switched on. If the one you need is not in the list, ask the builder; it will tell you whether it is available and can offer to open the right settings.

Some Google connections reach further than their name suggests. Connecting Google Sheets or Google Forms also lets the app read your Google Drive, not only the spreadsheets or forms you had in mind. The separate Google Drive connection is narrower: it works with the files your app creates and with file details across your Drive, rather than the contents of everything in it. Google Workspace explains the difference in more detail.

If the service you need is not listed, it may still be reachable through an outside API — see Connect an outside API.

Connect a service

1. Sign in to AppHandle and open Your desk.
2. At the bottom of the sidebar, select your account to open Account settings.
3. Choose Integrations in the menu on the left.
4. Find the service and select Connect.
5. Sign in to the other service and approve access. Each service shows you what is being requested before you agree.
6. You land back in AppHandle where you started. The service is listed as Connected, with the account address when the service provides one.

While you are working inside an app, the session menu also offers Integrations, and the same list appears in the app's Settings.

Check a connection

A connected service shows two actions: Test and Disconnect. What Test can tell you depends on the service.

For some services, Test reaches out and reports what it can see — for example, how many spreadsheets, pages, or channels your connection can reach, or which GitHub account it is signed in as. For others, it only confirms that the connection is still held, and you see a short confirmation. Test is a quick check, not a promise that every action will succeed.

A connection that stops working is not detected on its own. AppHandle finds out only when a request fails. If a service stops accepting your app's requests, select Disconnect on that service and then select Connect to approve access again. Disconnect removes the connection after you confirm, and your apps lose access to that service until you connect it again.

Where to go next

Once a service is connected, ask the builder to use it — see Use a connected service in your app.