> ## 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.

# Tools and connectors

> Give a thread access to the systems it needs to get work done.

A connector gives a thread access to a system outside Sidekick, so it can read from or act on something real instead of working from text alone. This page covers finding a connector, connecting it, and what happens when one needs your approval.

## Two lists

Connectors show up in two places:

* **Your connectors**: every connector you've personally connected, including any you've since turned off. This list is yours alone, not a picture of what the whole workspace has connected.
* **Available**: connectors the workspace has approved that you haven't connected yet.

## Connect a tool

<Steps>
  <Step title="Find it in Available">
    Open the available list and find the connector you need.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the button state">
    The button tells you what's needed:

    * **Set up**: you haven't connected this one yet. Click it to start.
    * **Reconnect**: the connection broke, often because a credential expired or was revoked elsewhere. Click it to fix the connection.
    * **Added**: this connector doesn't need authentication, so it's already on. There's nothing for you to do.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use it in a thread">
    Once connected, bring it into a thread with `@` from the composer. See [Thread and composer](/docs/sidekick/use/thread-and-composer).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Every tool has a disposition

An admin sets a disposition on each connector: allow, ask, or block. Allow lets a thread call it without stopping. Ask pauses the thread and shows an approval card before the call runs. This is a **gated tool**. Block means a thread can't use it at all, no matter who's asking.

<Note>
  If a thread stops on an approval card, that's the ask disposition doing its job. See [Approvals](/docs/sidekick/use/approvals) for what to do with it.
</Note>

## Request a connector you don't have

If a connector you need isn't in your available list, you can still ask for it. Request it and it shows as **Requested** while an admin reviews whether to approve it for you.

## Using a connector outside Sidekick

Some connectors aren't only usable inside a Sidekick thread. Where a connector supports it, the same governed connection can be reached from outside Sidekick through a gateway, so other tools you use can call on it under the same rules. Availability depends on the connector and your workspace's configuration.

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Govern tools and connectors" icon="plug-zap" href="/docs/sidekick/admin/govern-tools-connectors">
    How admins control which tools and connectors are available and how they're gated.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Approvals" icon="check-check" href="/docs/sidekick/use/approvals">
    What to do when a gated tool pauses a thread for your sign-off.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>