> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://oximy.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Govern tools and connectors

> Control which tools and connectors agents are allowed to use.

Open **Sidekick → Governance → Connectors** to control which connectors your workspace can use, how each one is gated, and who can add their own.

## Approve a connector

Approving a connector adds it to the **Available** list people see when they go to connect a tool. Until a connector is approved, nobody in the workspace can connect it, no matter how badly a thread needs it.

## Block and enable

Blocking a connector is different from leaving it unapproved. A blocked connector is disabled everywhere it was already in use, and a thread can't call it under any circumstance. Enabling it again restores access immediately, on the same terms it had before.

<Note>
  Blocked wins over everything else. If a connector is blocked, no per-person policy, tier, or existing approval brings it back. It has to be enabled first.
</Note>

## Register a custom connector

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the custom connector form">
    In **Governance → Connectors**, start registering a connector that isn't already in the catalog.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the connection">
    Provide what the connector needs to reach the target system: its endpoint and how it authenticates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and approve it">
    Once saved, the custom connector behaves like any catalog connector: it needs approval before it shows up as available, and it can be blocked or enabled the same way.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Set per-person tool policies

Beyond workspace-wide approval, you can set a policy for a specific person on a specific connector: allow, ask, or block. A per-person policy overrides the connector's general disposition for that individual only, so you can, for example, let one person skip an approval step that everyone else still hits.

## The self-add floor

The self-add floor decides whether members can connect their own connectors on top of what the workspace has approved, or whether every connector in their available list has to come from you. Turn it off to keep connector access fully centralized; turn it on to let people add connectors themselves within whatever else governance still allows.

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Tools and connectors" icon="plug" href="/docs/sidekick/use/tools-connectors">
    What connecting a tool and responding to a gated call looks like for the people using Sidekick.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approvals" icon="check-check" href="/docs/sidekick/admin/approvals">
    Where connector approval requests land once a member asks for one.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>