Connector

A connector is a door into an account you already have — your Gmail, your Google Calendar, your Slack. You sign in once, through the account's own "Sign in with…" screen. After that the connector holds the key, so nothing has to ask for your password again.

A connector pairs with an app

A connector is the access — the key to an account. An app is the feature that uses it.

• A Gmail app uses the Gmail connector to show your new mail on the device.
• A calendar app uses the Calendar connector to put your next meeting on a glance.

The connector opens the door; the app walks through it. You sign in once, and every app that needs that account shares the same door.

One account, opened once, used by many

Your accountGmail, Calendar, Slack.

sign in once

The connectorHolds the key, carries the actions.

its actions

Either one

An appShows your mail or meeting on the device.

The assistantSend that as an email.

The assistant can act through it too

Ask the assistant to send that as an email, and it reaches for the Gmail connector the same way an app would — through the actions the connector carries. Same door, something different walking through it.

Where this stands

Signing in is here; acting through an account is being built. The roadmap tracks when connectors go live.

What a connector holds

A connector keeps a sign-in token for one account and the list of actions that account allows — send a message, list your mail, create an event. An app or the assistant names an action, hands over its inputs, and the connector runs it against the account's API and returns the result.

The sign-in half works today; the actions half is the part still being wired.

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