SurfSense DocsExternal Connectors
Connect third-party services like Notion, Slack, Google, GitHub, and Obsidian
External connectors link SurfSense to third-party services. Open the Connectors dialog in your workspace, pick a service, and connect — via OAuth, an API token, a webhook, or a companion plugin, depending on the service. You can connect multiple accounts of the same service.
Most of them act as live tools for the AI agent — when you chat, the agent can search your Notion pages, read Slack threads, or create Jira issues in real time. File sources (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) instead show up in the Documents sidebar's Import menu, where you pick files to index into your knowledge base.
One-click connectors (no setup)
These work out of the box on every deployment — SurfSense connects to the service's hosted MCP server and the service issues credentials automatically. Just click Connect:
| Connector | What the agent can do |
|---|---|
| Notion | Search, read, create, and update pages |
| Linear | Search, read, and manage issues and projects |
| Jira | Search issues with JQL, browse projects, create and edit issues |
| Confluence | Search and read spaces, create and update pages |
| ClickUp | Search and read tasks |
Write actions (creating a page, editing an issue) always ask for your confirmation in chat before they run.
Connectors that need OAuth credentials (self-hosted)
For these, a self-hosted deployment needs its own OAuth app registered with the provider. Create the app once, put the credentials in your .env (each variable is documented in .env.example), restart, and the Connect button works for everyone on your instance:
Google (Drive, Gmail, Calendar)
One Google Cloud OAuth app powers all three connectors
Slack
Search and read channels and threads
Airtable
Browse bases, tables, and records
Microsoft OneDrive
Import your OneDrive files into the knowledge base
Dropbox
Import your Dropbox files into the knowledge base
On SurfSense Cloud these are already configured — just click Connect. The setup guides above only apply to self-hosted deployments.
Token, webhook, and plugin connectors
These you configure yourself with an API token, a webhook, or a companion plugin:
GitHub
Index repositories into your knowledge base
BookStack
Index your BookStack documentation
Circleback
Receive meeting notes and transcripts via webhook
Obsidian
Sync your vault with the SurfSense Obsidian plugin
There's also a generic Custom MCP connector in the catalog that lets you plug any MCP server into the agent — including API-key-based services like Tavily or Linkup.
Importing files from Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox
Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox are file sources, so they don't appear in the connector catalog. Instead, open the Documents sidebar, click Import, and pick the service. After authorizing, browse and select the files you want — they're indexed into your knowledge base and kept searchable alongside your uploads and notes.
Managing connections
Everything happens in the Connectors dialog:
- Active tab — see connected accounts, live status, and document counts.
- Reconnect — if a token expires, the connector card prompts you to re-authorize.
- Disconnect — removes the connection. For knowledge-base connectors this also removes the documents it indexed.