Because app actions connect with external software systems, you may need to authenticate your Datadog account to the corresponding integration. An app can run successfully only if every app action that requires authentication can verify the identity of your Datadog account. When granting permissions to Datadog, ensure that you’re following security best practice and only granting the permissions necessary for an app to run.

App actions can be authenticated in two ways:

• Credentials and permissions configured in the integration tile
• Connection credentials

Integration tile credentials

Credentials and account authentication that you set up in the following Datadog integration tiles automatically propagate to the corresponding actions in App Builder:

• Jira
• PagerDuty
• Slack
• GitHub

Configure the integration tiles by following instructions in Datadog Integrations.

If the integration you need to set up is not listed above, set up connection credentials.

Connection credentials

App Builder connections extend your installed integrations to give you control over app action authentication. Use connection credentials to authenticate any action for which the integration tile does not offer authentication. For a list of integrations that use the integration tile for authentication, see the Integration tile credentials section. Connection credentials are only available for use within the App Builder and Workflow Automation products.

Connections support the following example use cases:

• The integration you need is not available as a built-in connection.
• You wish to authenticate a custom action. For instance, you need to use the HTTP action with your own service.
• The permissions needed are not supported by the integration, such as write permissions on AWS.
• You want granular access control, for example restricting user access to certain apps.

Connection security considerations

Before you create a connection, think about the permissions needed to fulfill the required task and grant the connection only the necessary permissions to fulfill that task. In addition, the connection should be restricted to only the people who need to use it.

Where possible, use granular connections for different apps. For example, if you have an app that writes to an Amazon S3 bucket and an app that terminates Amazon EC2 instances, do not use the same connection for both apps. Instead, create two respective connections, each corresponding to an IAM role with limited scope.

Work with connections

View connections

1. From the App Builder page, click the Connections tab. The connections list opens.
2. Click on a single line to view connection details.

Create a connection

Establishing a connection requires the following information:

• What to connect to (for example, product name, URL)
• How to authenticate (for example, API key, username/password, oauth)

To create a connection:

1. Navigate to the connections list.
2. Click New Connection in the upper right. The New Connection dialog box appears.
3. Click on an icon to choose an integration schema.
4. Fill in the appropriate fields. Click Create.

Alternatively, add a connection from the app page:

1. Navigate to the App Builder app list.
2. Select the app containing the action you need to add a credential to. The app canvas appears.
3. Click Edit in the upper right.
4. Under Queries on the left-hand side, click the action to which you need to add a credential. The left side panel populates with the action details.
5. Look for the Connection dropdown and click the + icon.
6. In the New Connection dialog box, name the connection and enter the required authentication details.
7. Click Save.

The example below shows the New Connection dialog box for the OpenAI connection. Each connection requires different authentication information. The OpenAI connection requires a valid Connection Name and API Token.

Edit a connection

1. Navigate to the connections list.
2. Hover over the connection you would like to edit. Edit, Permissions, and Delete icons appear on the right.
3. Click the pencil (Edit) icon. A dialog box appears.
4. Update the fields you would like to change.
5. Click Save.

Delete a connection

1. Navigate to the connections list.
2. Hover over the connection you would like to delete. Edit, Permissions, and Delete icons appear on the right.
3. Click the trash can (Delete) icon. “Are you sure?” text appears.
4. Select Delete.

Restrict connection use

To learn how to restrict connection use, see Authentication.

HTTP connection

To connect to an arbitrary service, use the HTTP connection type. For authentication options and setup instructions, see HTTP requests.

Further reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Build AppsDOCUMENTATION

Do you have questions or feedback? Join the #app-builder channel on the Datadog Community Slack.