# Connect a data source

Now that you've built your UI, it's time you connected a data source. First-time users will have to do it following the instruction below. Next time though, since data sources are reusable across all your applications, you will simply have to select a previously connected data source in the list of Data sources and start using it right away.

## **To connect a new data source:**

1. Go to the **Data Sources** tab in the left side panel and click **Connect**.
2. In the window that opens, select the data source type.

{% hint style="info" %}
Use the **Search** bar to quickly find the data source you need or choose from *Popular* and our *Sample* ones.
{% endhint %}

3. Enter a name to identify it within your app and specify all the required **connection settings** fields, such as a list of credentials, an API URL, a Google sheet link, and others.

{% hint style="success" %}
UI Bakery doesn’t store your data. We only keep the encrypted credentials to access a data source.
{% endhint %}

4. Next, click **Test connection** to check if the configuration is correct.

{% hint style="info" %}
For specific data sources (for example, **HTTP**), you can proceed with connecting the data source without testing the connection.
{% endhint %}

5. (Optional) If you choose not to connect your data source immediately, you can use test MySQL or HTTP data sources instead.
6. To continue, click **Connect data source**.\
   Once connected, a list of tables available in the data source will be displayed. You can uncheck the unnecessary tables or change their properties and titles. They will be put in **Table/Form** titles by default when you use them.

{% hint style="info" %}
For HTTP data sources, no resources will appear in the list unless UI Bakery can extract them from the API schema.
{% endhint %}

That's it! The newly created data source will be added to the list of all available data sources. You can edit its settings or remove it from the list, if necessary.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Keep in mind that modifying or deleting a data source impacts all applications that use it.
{% endhint %}

{% @arcade/embed flowId="1KTRCS9pa3EEsC4IHf12" url="<https://app.arcade.software/share/1KTRCS9pa3EEsC4IHf12>" %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.uibakery.io/build-from-scratch/getting-started/connect-a-data-source.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.