> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/connectors-overview.md).

# Overview

Understand what Harness connectors are, how they work, and how to create your first connector.

A Harness connector is a configuration that enables Harness to communicate with an external system, such as a cloud platform, Git provider, artifact registry, or monitoring tool. Harness uses connectors to authenticate with these systems and perform tasks such as deploying services, fetching artifacts, and cloning repositories.

This topic introduces the basic connector concepts and shows how they fit together.

***

## What you will learn from this topic <a href="#what-you-will-learn-from-this-topic" id="what-you-will-learn-from-this-topic"></a>

* How connectors work in Harness and how they are organized by [connector category](#connector-categories)
* Understand [connector structure](#connector-structure) including scope, credentials, and connectivity mode
* How to [configure connectivity mode](#connectivity-mode) so Harness can reach the target system directly or through a delegate
* How to [create a connector](#create-a-connector) and use it across pipelines and other Harness resources

***

## Before you begin <a href="#before-you-begin" id="before-you-begin"></a>

* **Harness account and project:** You need access to a Harness account and project. If you are new to Harness, go to [Harness Platform overview](/harness-ai/new-to-harness-platform/overview.md) to get started.
* **Target system access:** You need valid credentials, such as a username and password, API key, or SSH key, for the external system you want to connect to.

***

## What is a connector? <a href="#what-is-a-connector" id="what-is-a-connector"></a>

A connector stores the connection information and credentials Harness needs to interact with an external system. After you create a connector, you can reference it from pipelines, services, environments, and other Harness resources instead of re-entering credentials each time.

A connector can be used to:

* Authenticate with a cloud provider to provision infrastructure or deploy services.
* Clone and update source code in a Git repository.
* Fetch or publish artifacts from an artifact repository.
* Fetch or push manifests to a repository.
* Read metrics and logs from a monitoring or logging system.
* Create and update tickets in a ticketing system.

***

## Connector categories <a href="#connector-categories" id="connector-categories"></a>

Harness groups connectors by the type of system they connect to.

| Category                                                                                                        | Typical use                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Cloud providers](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/cloud-providers.md)                               | Connect to AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes clusters, Physical Data Center, Rancher, Spot, Tanzu Application Service, and Terraform Cloud to provision resources and deploy services.                                       |
| [Artifact repositories](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/artifact-repositories.md)                   | Connect to Docker Registry, Nexus, Jenkins, Artifactory, Bamboo, Azure Artifacts, HTTP Helm Repo, and OCI Helm Registry to fetch or publish build artifacts.                                                           |
| [Code repositories](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/code-repositories.md)                           | Connect to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos, and generic Git providers to clone and update source code.                                                                                                          |
| [Ticketing systems](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/ticketing-systems.md)                           | Connect to Jira, Jira Service Management, and ServiceNow to create and track tickets from pipeline workflows.                                                                                                          |
| [Monitoring and logging systems](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/monitoring-and-logging-systems.md) | Connect to observability platforms such as Datadog, Dynatrace, New Relic, Splunk, Sumo Logic, PagerDuty, AppDynamics, ElasticSearch, Prometheus, and Custom Health to read metrics and logs during verification steps. |
| [Secret managers](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/secrets/secrets-management.md)                               | Connect to AWS Secrets Manager, AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, GCP Secrets Manager, GCP KMS, HashiCorp Vault, and custom secret managers to store and reference credentials.                                                |
| Database                                                                                                        | Connect to a database over JDBC.                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| Communication tools                                                                                             | Connect to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Zoom, and OpsGenie to send notifications from pipelines.                                                                                                               |
| Documentation                                                                                                   | Connect to Confluence.                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| [AI providers](/harness-ai/use-harness-ai/connect-with-ai.md)                                                   | Connect to Anthropic, OpenAI, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Devin to bring your own model or agent into Harness AI.                                                                                                      |
| [MCP servers](/harness-ai/use-harness-ai/connect-with-ai/index.md)                                              | Connect an MCP server so AI clients can call Harness tools and resources.                                                                                                                                              |

The exact connector types available to you depend on the modules enabled for your project and your permissions.

***

## Access and permissions <a href="#access-and-permissions" id="access-and-permissions"></a>

Connector access is controlled through Harness role-based access control (RBAC). Your permissions determine which connectors you can view, create, edit, and use.

For more information, go to [Manage access control for connectors](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/manage-access-control-for-connectors.md).

***

## Connector structure <a href="#connector-structure" id="connector-structure"></a>

A connector is a Harness resource. It belongs to an account, organization, or project.

Each connector has:

* A **name** and a unique **identifier** (ID). The ID is set when the connector is created and cannot be changed after saving.
* A **scope**: account, organization, or project. You can create a connector at any scope, and reference it from that scope or from a scope below it.
* A **type**, such as AWS, Kubernetes Cluster, or GitHub, that determines the settings and credential options available.
* **Credentials**, typically a reference to a Harness secret that stores a password, token, or key.
* A **connectivity mode** that determines how Harness reaches the target system.
* Optional **tags**, which you can use to organize connectors and grant tag-based access through resource groups.

***

## Connectivity mode <a href="#connectivity-mode" id="connectivity-mode"></a>

Connectivity mode determines how Harness communicates with the system the connector points to. Most connector types support two connectivity modes:

* **Connect through Harness Platform:** Harness communicates directly with the target system over a secure connection. This mode is required if you use the connector with [Harness Cloud build infrastructure](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/set-up-build-infrastructure/use-harness-cloud-build-infrastructure.md).
* **Connect through a Harness Delegate:** Harness communicates with the target system through a delegate you install in your own infrastructure. Use this mode when the target system is not reachable directly from Harness, such as a private network or an on-premises system.

For more information about delegates, go to [Delegate overview](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/delegates/delegate/delegate-concepts/delegate-overview.md).

***

## Credentials and secrets <a href="#credentials-and-secrets" id="credentials-and-secrets"></a>

Connectors authenticate using credentials such as passwords, tokens, or SSH keys. Rather than entering these values directly in the connector, you store them as a Harness secret and reference the secret's identifier in the connector configuration. This keeps sensitive values encrypted and out of connector configuration and pipeline YAML.

For more information, go to [Secrets](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/secrets.md).

***

## Create a connector <a href="#create-a-connector" id="create-a-connector"></a>

You can create a connector using the Harness UI or the YAML editor.

* **UI:** Go to the connector category pages, such as [Cloud providers](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/cloud-providers.md) or [Code repositories](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/code-repositories.md), for steps on creating a specific connector type.
* **YAML:** Go to [Create a connector using YAML](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/create-a-connector-using-yaml.md) to add a connector using the YAML Builder.
* **API or Terraform:** Go to the [Harness connectors API](https://apidocs.harness.io/tag/Connectors/) or the [Harness Terraform Provider connector resources](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/harness/harness/latest/docs) to create and manage connectors programmatically.

***

## Connection test <a href="#connection-test" id="connection-test"></a>

When you create or update a connector, Harness runs a connection test to confirm the credentials are correct and the target system is reachable. If the test fails, review the credentials and connectivity mode before saving the connector.

In some network environments, such as those with restrictive firewall policies, the connection test can fail even though the connector works at runtime. For more information, go to [Skip connector preflight checks](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/create-a-connector-using-yaml.md#skip-connector-preflight-checks).

***

## Use connectors in pipelines <a href="#use-connectors-in-pipelines" id="use-connectors-in-pipelines"></a>

After you create a connector, you can reference it from stages, steps, services, environments, and templates. For example, a Deploy stage can use a Kubernetes cluster connector to reach the deployment target, and a Build stage can use a Docker Registry connector to push an image.

***

## Next steps <a href="#next-steps" id="next-steps"></a>

* [Cloud providers](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/cloud-providers.md): Connect to AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, and other infrastructure providers.
* [Artifact repositories](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/artifact-repositories.md): Connect to Docker registries, Nexus, Jenkins, and other artifact sources.
* [Code repositories](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/code-repositories.md): Connect to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and other Git providers.
* [Create a connector using YAML](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/create-a-connector-using-yaml.md): Add a connector using the YAML Builder.
* [Manage access control for connectors](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/connectors/manage-access-control-for-connectors.md): Control who can view, create, edit, and use connectors.