> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flowx.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Choose how to connect FlowX.AI to external systems > Compare Integration Designer data sources, incoming webhooks, and custom Kafka connectors, and pick the right way to connect FlowX.AI to your external systems. FlowX.AI connects to external systems in three ways. Most integrations use **Integration Designer**, a low-code environment where you configure a data source (a REST API, database, mailbox, file store, or AI tool) and call it from an integration workflow. External systems can also call into FlowX through **incoming webhooks** or the REST API. For legacy systems that need bespoke logic, self-hosted deployments can run **custom Kafka connectors**. *** ## Which integration approach should I use? | You need to | Use | Deployment | | - | - | - | | Call a REST or SOAP API, query a database, send or read email, or move files | [Integration Designer](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer.md) data source, called from an integration workflow | All deployments | | Start or resume a process when an external system sends an HTTP POST | [Incoming Webhook](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/incoming-webhooks.md) | All deployments | | Embed FlowX screens in your app, trigger processes from your own code, or react to FlowX events | [Consuming FlowX from external apps](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/consuming-flowx-from-external-apps.md) | All deployments | | Connect a legacy system, an RPA tool, or a custom file exchange that needs logic you write yourself | [Custom Kafka connector](#how-do-custom-kafka-connectors-work) | Self-hosted only | *** ## What can Integration Designer connect to? In Integration Designer, a data source holds the connection to one external system. Integration workflows call its endpoints or operations, and a process runs a workflow through the [Start integration workflow action](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/building-blocks/actions/start-integration-workflow.md). For the full walkthrough, see the [Integration Designer](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer.md) guide. ### APIs and web services > [card] [RESTful System](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer.md#restful-system) > > Connect to external REST APIs and configure endpoints, authentication, and parameters > [card] [SOAP System](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/soap-system.md) > > Import a WSDL and invoke the discovered operations from workflows ### Databases > [card] [FlowX Database](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/flowx-database.md) > > Store and share structured data across processes and apps, with no external database to manage > [card] [Unmanaged MongoDB](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/unmanaged-mongodb.md) > > Connect to MongoDB instances your organization already manages > [card] [Oracle Database](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/oracle-database.md) > > Run saved SQL queries against an Oracle database you manage > [card] [PostgreSQL Database](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/postgresql-database.md) > > Run saved SQL queries against a PostgreSQL database you manage > [card] [Db2 Database](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/db2-database.md) > > Run saved SQL queries against an IBM Db2 database you manage ### Email and inbound events > [card] [Email Trigger](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/email-trigger.md) > > Start process instances when emails arrive in a mailbox monitored over IMAP > [card] [Email Sender](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/email-sender.md) > > Send new emails and replies to received emails from processes over SMTP > [card] [Microsoft Outlook](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/microsoft-outlook-data-source.md) > > Read and send Outlook emails through the Microsoft Graph API (5.9.1 and later) > [card] [Incoming Webhook](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/incoming-webhooks.md) > > Start or resume a process from an external HTTP POST secured with an API key ### Files > [card] [File Storage](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/file-storage.md) > > Move files in and out of external FTP, SFTP, S3, or Azure Blob storage ### AI tools and context > [card] [MCP Integration](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/mcp-integration/mcp-integration-overview.md) > > Connect Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers so AI agents can use external tools > [card] [Knowledge Base](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/knowledge-base-integration/knowledge-base-overview.md) > > Give AI agents contextual information from documents and data feeds ### Other Integration Designer topics | Topic | Use it to | | - | - | | [Workflow data model](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/workflow-data-models.md) | Define a workflow's input and output parameters | | [Custom Agent node](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/custom-agent-node.md) | Run an AI agent with MCP tools inside a workflow | | [Proxy connections](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/proxy-connections.md) | Route data source traffic through an HTTP or HTTPS proxy | | [Testing data sources from Runtime](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/testing-data-sources.md) | Run database operations against a deployed build without starting a workflow | | [Finding identifiers and parameters](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/finding-identifiers-and-parameters.md) | Locate the IDs and parameters needed for API calls and Kafka messages | *** ## How do custom Kafka connectors work? > [!NOTE] > > Custom connectors are a **self-hosted** capability. On FlowX.AI SaaS, the Kafka cluster is internal to the platform and a connector you run cannot reach it. On SaaS, use an Integration Designer data source or an [Incoming Webhook](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/incoming-webhooks.md) instead. A connector is a microservice you build and deploy, in any technology that can send and receive Kafka messages. The process engine sends a message to the connector, the connector talks to the external system, and it replies on a Kafka topic the engine listens on. The process waits at a receive message node until the reply arrives. ![The FlowX Engine's Kafka producer sends a message from a process task through Kafka to the connector's Kafka consumer. The connector translates the data, calls the external system over REST, SOAP, or another protocol, and its Kafka producer sends the reply back through Kafka to the engine's Kafka consumer.](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/docx.flowx.ai/platform-deep-dive/intgr_final.png) **1. Build the connector** Develop a microservice that listens for Kafka events, processes the received data, calls the external system, and sends the result back to Kafka. For a Java starting point, use the [quickstart connector](https://github.com/flowx-ai/quickstart-connector) repository. **2. Send data from the process** In the [process definition](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/building-blocks/process/process-definition.md), add a [message send task](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/building-blocks/node/message-send-received-task-node.md) with an action that sends the required data to the connector's input topic. **3. Receive the reply** Add a receive message task where the process waits for the connector's response. The connector must reply on a topic that matches the topic pattern the engine listens on. > [!WARNING] > > The engine does not consume replies from arbitrary topic names. Before you name the reply topic, read the topic pattern rules and topic provisioning notes in [Building a connector](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/building-a-connector.md#connector-configuration-sample). For the full guide, including Kafka consumer and producer examples, see [Building a connector](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/building-a-connector.md), [Creating a Kafka consumer](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/creating-a-kafka-consumer.md), and [Creating a Kafka producer](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/creating-a-kafka-producer.md). *** ## How do I test and monitor integrations? > [card] [Mock integrations](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/mock-integrations.md) > > Test a process flow before every integration is finished, using the mock integrations server > [card] [Observability with OpenTelemetry](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/open-telemetry.md) > > Trace, measure, and log integration calls across the platform *** ## Related resources > [card] [Integration Designer](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer.md) > > Data sources, endpoints, and integration workflows in full > [card] [Consuming FlowX from external apps](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/consuming-flowx-from-external-apps.md) > > SDKs, REST, webhooks, and Kafka patterns for calling FlowX > [card] [Start integration workflow action](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/building-blocks/actions/start-integration-workflow.md) > > Run an integration workflow from a process node > [card] [Building a connector](https://docs.flowx.ai/6.x/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/building-a-connector.md) > > Build and deploy a custom Kafka connector ## Related topics - [FlowX.AI 5.6.0 Release Notes](https://docs.flowx.ai/release-notes/v5.x/v5.6.0-march-2026/v5.6.0-march-2026.md) - [FlowX.AI 5.0.0 Release Notes](https://docs.flowx.ai/release-notes/v5.x/v5.0.0-july-2025/v5.0.0-july-2025.md) - [FlowX.AI 5.1.0 Release Notes](https://docs.flowx.ai/release-notes/v5.x/v5.1.x-lts/v5.1.0-october-2025/v5.1.0-october-2025.md) - [FlowX.AI 4.6.0 Release Notes](https://docs.flowx.ai/release-notes/v4.x/v4.6.x/v4.6.0-january-2025/v4.6.0-january-2025.md) - [FlowX.AI 5.2.0 Release Notes](https://docs.flowx.ai/release-notes/v5.x/v5.2.0-november-2025/v5.2.0-november-2025.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.