Connectors

Preview: Connectors are in preview. Supported services and behavior may change.

Overview

Connectors are managed integrations for services that your API Group has connected in the API Portal. They use the same tool-calling model as MCP, but you do not provide a server URL or an access token in every request. Instead, select a connected integration by its connector ID. Some connectors also make their credentials available to Sandbox commands. This lets an agent combine service access with code changes and other local work in one run.

Available connectors

The current set of connectors includes:

Service	Connector ID
GitHub	`connector_github`
Slack	`connector_slack`
Google Drive	`connector_googledrive`
Datadog	`connector_datadog`

Don’t see the connector you need? Email api@perplexity.ai to request it. In the meantime, you can connect any remote MCP server to an Agent API request.

Add a connector

Open Connectors in the API Portal.
Only an API Group administrator can connect a supported service to the API Group.
Copy the connector ID from the service card.
Add a connector entry to the Agent API request.

Connector tools use deferred discovery by default. Set max_steps high enough to discover and use them.

The following request uses a connected Slack workspace to summarize recent messages about AI. Replace connector_slack with the connector ID that you copied from the API Portal.

from perplexity import Perplexity

client = Perplexity()

response = client.responses.create(
    model="openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    input="Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.",
    max_steps=6,
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "connector",
            "id": "connector_slack",
            "server_label": "slack",
        }
    ],
)

print(response.output_text)

import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';

const client = new Perplexity();

const response = await client.responses.create({
  model: 'openai/gpt-5.6-terra',
  input: 'Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.',
  max_steps: 6,
  tools: [
    {
      type: 'connector',
      id: 'connector_slack',
      server_label: 'slack',
    },
  ],
});

console.log(response.output_text);

curl https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/agent \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    "input": "Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.",
    "max_steps": 6,
    "tools": [
      {
        "type": "connector",
        "id": "connector_slack",
        "server_label": "slack"
      }
    ]
  }' | jq

The response output array lists the connector’s tools, the model’s search of that catalog, each tool call, and the final message. Connectors are deferred by default, so the model searches the catalog (tool_search_output) before it calls a tool.

Response output (truncated)

[
  {
    "type": "mcp_list_tools",
    "id": "mcpl_4826e99b-cae4-4c44-a613-d205823c2bc0",
    "connector_id": "connector_slack",
    "server_label": "slack",
    "tools": [
      {
        "name": "slack_search_public",
        "description": "Searches for messages, files in public Slack channels ...",
        "input_schema": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": { "query": { "type": "string" } },
          "required": ["query"]
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "slack_send_message",
        "description": "Sends a message to a Slack channel or user ...",
        "input_schema": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": { "channel_id": { "type": "string" }, "message": { "type": "string" } },
          "required": ["channel_id", "message"]
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "type": "tool_search_output",
    "id": "tso_call_opbSkWX14DwhfWlPdAE9wfH0",
    "call_id": null,
    "status": "completed",
    "execution": "server",
    "arguments": "{\"paths\":[\"slack\"],\"queries\":[\"search\",\"messages\"]}",
    "tools": [
      {
        "type": "namespace",
        "name": "slack",
        "tools": [
          { "type": "function", "name": "slack_search_public", "description": "..." }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "type": "mcp_call",
    "id": "call_DUjlg6jMJoU92GMfrmD8SVcS",
    "connector_id": "connector_slack",
    "server_label": "slack",
    "name": "slack_search_public",
    "arguments": "{\"query\":\"AI\",\"content_types\":\"messages\",\"sort\":\"timestamp\", ...}",
    "output": "{\"results\": ...}",
    "error": null
  },
  {
    "type": "message",
    "id": "msg_...",
    "role": "assistant",
    "status": "completed",
    "content": [
      { "type": "output_text", "text": "Here is a summary of recent messages about AI ...", "annotations": [] }
    ]
  }
]

Deferred tool discovery

A connector can expose many tools, and loading every schema up front would waste tokens. Connector tools are discovered lazily instead: the model receives the connector namespace, searches it, loads only the schemas it needs, and calls them — all automatically. You only add the connector to tools. The mcp_list_tools item still records the full catalog; deferred discovery controls what enters the model’s context, not what the response reports.

Connector parameters

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	Yes	Must be `"connector"`.
`id`	string	Yes	The connector ID copied from the API Portal.
`server_label`	string	Yes	A request-local label for the connector.
`server_description`	string	No	A model-facing description of the connector namespace.
`allowed_tools`	array	No	An exact-name allowlist. Omit or leave empty to expose every available tool.

Use connectors in the sandbox

Some connectors make their credentials available to sandbox commands. GitHub is a key example.

GitHub connector

The GitHub connector lets the model use the GitHub tools that belong to your connected GitHub account. Pair it with Sandbox when the task needs the git or gh CLI. With both tools enabled, the agent can clone private repositories, inspect and change code, commit changes, push a branch, and create or update a pull request. It uses the git and gh CLIs in the sandbox with the GitHub credentials from the connector. The agent can access only repositories and perform only actions that your connected GitHub account permits.

With the sandbox enabled and no allowed_tools, GitHub runs through the CLIs: the response has no mcp_list_tools or mcp_call items, and failures appear as git or gh output. Set allowed_tools or omit the sandbox to use it as a regular connector with mcp_call items.

from perplexity import Perplexity

client = Perplexity()

stream = client.responses.create(
    model="openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    input="Clone the GitHub repository perplexityai/perplexity-py. Review README.md and make one small, factual documentation improvement. Do not modify any other files. Report the changed file. Create a pull request with a clear title and return its URL.",
    max_steps=12,
    stream=True,
    tools=[
        {"type": "sandbox"},
        {
            "type": "connector",
            "id": "connector_github",
            "server_label": "github",
        },
    ],
)

for event in stream:
    print(event)

import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';

const client = new Perplexity();

const stream = await client.responses.create({
  model: 'openai/gpt-5.6-terra',
  input: 'Clone the GitHub repository perplexityai/perplexity-py. Review README.md and make one small, factual documentation improvement. Do not modify any other files. Report the changed file. Create a pull request with a clear title and return its URL.',
  max_steps: 12,
  stream: true,
  tools: [
    { type: 'sandbox' },
    {
      type: 'connector',
      id: 'connector_github',
      server_label: 'github',
    },
  ],
});

for await (const event of stream) {
  console.log(event);
}

curl -N --no-buffer --fail-with-body https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/agent \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: text/event-stream" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    "input": "Clone the GitHub repository perplexityai/perplexity-py. Review README.md and make one small, factual documentation improvement. Do not modify any other files. Report the changed file. Create a pull request with a clear title and return its URL.",
    "max_steps": 12,
    "stream": true,
    "tools": [
      { "type": "sandbox" },
      {
        "type": "connector",
        "id": "connector_github",
        "server_label": "github"
      }
    ]
  }' \
  | awk '/^data: / { sub(/^data: /, ""); sub(/\r$/, ""); if ($0 != "[DONE]") print }' \
  | jq --unbuffered .

Connectors and MCP

Both connectors and MCP servers let the Agent API call external tools. Use a connector when the integration is already managed for your API Group. Use MCP when you need to connect your own remote server and provide its URL and authentication in the request.

	Connector	MCP server
Setup	Connect it once in the API Portal.	Provide a remote `server_url` in each request.
Authentication	Uses the connection configured for the API Group.	Pass request-specific authentication to the remote server.
Sandbox integration	Some managed connectors make their credentials available to Sandbox commands. For example, use the GitHub connector with `git` and `gh`.	MCP server credentials are not available to Sandbox commands.
Best for	Supported managed integrations, such as GitHub.	Your own or third-party remote MCP servers.

Error handling

A connector tool call can fail as an mcp_call item with an error field. This does not fail the request: the run continues and the error is passed to the model in-band, so the model still answers — it just cannot use that connector. The main case to handle is AUTH_REQUIRED: the connector’s authorization went stale or an administrator revoked it. Your requests keep working — the connector is just unavailable to the model until it is reconnected, which you can do later. For example:

{
  "type": "mcp_call",
  "id": "call_h2rK8I109IvZC038Wcuudzhc",
  "connector_id": "connector_slack",
  "server_label": "slack",
  "name": "slack_search_public",
  "arguments": "{\"query\":\"AI\",\"content_types\":\"messages\", ...}",
  "error": "AUTH_REQUIRED"
}

Because the request still succeeds, this is easy to miss. Detect it in your harness and send it to your logging or alerting so an operator can reconnect the connector in the API Portal. Your harness can branch on the error value:

Value	Meaning	Suggested handling
`AUTH_REQUIRED`	The connector’s authorization has lapsed or been revoked.	Ask an administrator to reconnect it in the API Portal.
`INVALID_ARGUMENTS`	The model called the tool with arguments it rejected.	Recoverable. The error is returned to the model, which can retry with corrected arguments.
`POLICY_DENIED`	A policy blocked the tool call.	Do not retry. The call is not allowed.
`CONNECTOR_UNAVAILABLE`	The connector service could not be reached.	Transient. Retry later.
`CONNECTOR_INTERNAL_ERROR`	The connector returned a response that could not be used.	Transient. Retry later.
`TOOL_ERROR`	The tool failed for another reason.	Treat as a tool failure.

The error field is a free-form string, so treat any other value as a tool failure. A connector that is not connected lists no tools ("tools": []) and produces no error, so also watch for an empty tool list.

from perplexity import Perplexity

client = Perplexity()

CONNECTORS_URL = "https://console.perplexity.ai/group/connectors"

response = client.responses.create(
    model="openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    input="Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.",
    max_steps=6,
    tools=[
        {
            "type": "connector",
            "id": "connector_slack",
            "server_label": "slack",
        }
    ],
)

for item in response.output:
    if getattr(item, "type", None) != "mcp_call" or not getattr(item, "error", None):
        continue
    if item.error == "AUTH_REQUIRED":
        print(f"Ask an administrator to reconnect the {item.server_label} connector at {CONNECTORS_URL}")
    else:
        raise RuntimeError(f"Connector tool {item.name} failed: {item.error}")

import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';

const client = new Perplexity();

const CONNECTORS_URL = 'https://console.perplexity.ai/group/connectors';

const response = await client.responses.create({
  model: 'openai/gpt-5.6-terra',
  input: 'Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.',
  max_steps: 6,
  tools: [
    {
      type: 'connector',
      id: 'connector_slack',
      server_label: 'slack',
    },
  ],
});

for (const item of response.output) {
  if (item.type !== 'mcp_call' || !item.error) continue;
  if (item.error === 'AUTH_REQUIRED') {
    console.log(`Ask an administrator to reconnect the ${item.server_label} connector at ${CONNECTORS_URL}`);
  } else {
    throw new Error(`Connector tool ${item.name} failed: ${item.error}`);
  }
}

curl https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/agent \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-terra",
    "input": "Find and summarize recent messages about AI in my Slack workspace.",
    "max_steps": 6,
    "tools": [
      { "type": "connector", "id": "connector_slack", "server_label": "slack" }
    ]
  }' \
  | jq '.output[] | select(.type == "mcp_call" and .error != null) | {connector_id, server_label, name, error}'

Next steps

MCP

Connect a remote MCP server that you manage.

Sandbox

Run code and use the GitHub connector with git and gh.

Getting Started

Router API

Agent API

Search API

Search SDK

Embeddings API

Perplexity SDK

Admin & Management

Resources

Legacy API

Overview

Available connectors

Add a connector

Deferred tool discovery

Connector parameters

Use connectors in the sandbox

GitHub connector

Connectors and MCP

Error handling

Next steps

MCP

Sandbox

​Overview

​Available connectors

​Add a connector

​Deferred tool discovery

​Connector parameters

​Use connectors in the sandbox

​GitHub connector

​Connectors and MCP

​Error handling

​Next steps

MCP

Sandbox

Overview

Available connectors

Add a connector

Deferred tool discovery

Connector parameters

Use connectors in the sandbox

GitHub connector

Connectors and MCP

Error handling

Next steps