# 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 %}

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