Each API provider has their own security requirements, with some choosing to offer a completely open and free set of endpoints while others use a legacy username/password combination (Basic authentication) or a complete OAuth implementation, which requires information such as Client ID, Client Secret, Authorization URL, Token URL, Refresh URL, Scope and Redirect URL.
There are three options: No authentication (anonymous), Basic authentication, API key, and OAuth 2.0. Once the basic information has been supplied, an authentication mechanism must be chosen. This is optional but can help distinguish each connector in the rather lengthy list of available actions the user has to select from when designing a form or flow.
Note that the UI allows an icon file to be uploaded for the connector along with a background color. Base URL – A base path that all endpoints share, such as “api” or “functions” (note that it should include the leading slash “/”).Host – The base URI stem for the target endpoint (such as “”).Scheme – HTTPS or HTTP (HTTPS is preferred for obvious security reasons but not required).Gateway (UI only) – The option to connect via an on-premises gateway.Description – A longer string of text that describes the connector and what it does.Name (or Title) – Text that will appear in the list of available connectors when adding actions to a flow or form.Regardless of which method is chosen, the following information is part of the initial definition: This information can be supplied directly in the Custom Connectors portion of the user interface (for Power Automate, this can be found under Data > Custom Connectors in the left navigation menu) or supplied as part of a definition document in JSON format that follows the OpenAPI specification (formerly known as Swagger). Interacting with an external API from within Power Platform first requires a basic description of the connector, where the endpoint resides, what protocol to use and which authentication methods are required.
A full walkthrough for creating a connector from scratch in the UI is available at. Let’s take a closer look at each element and how they are implemented, then we’ll put them all together into a basic example that can easily be replicated in any tenant. Fortunately, both Power Automate and Power Apps share a single extensibility platform with Azure Logic Apps that allows developers to reference external API’s in a standardized format using a common design language.Ĭustom connectors are comprised of three main elements: 1) the connector information, 2) the connector definition (API specification), and 3) the actual API itself. In such cases, a custom connector is required that can get the job done in the exact manner required. Sometimes, however, requirements dictate a very specific set of operations not covered by any of the above options or which may be cost-prohibitive, difficult to configure, too complex for the target user base, and so on. And if those prove insufficient, premium and third-party connectors are available at an additional cost to satisfy everything from generic RESTful web service operations to niche business activities. In addition, many of the utility functions for data, date/time and text manipulation have an advanced expression syntax that supports complex operations. So the full URL appears to be In newer versions of Swagger UI, the link to the API definition is often displayed below the API title, so you can right-click the link and Save As.The Microsoft Power Platform provides numerous options for completing a wide range of tasks, from sending an email via Exchange Online to managing surveys in Forms and interacting with messages posted in Teams. The URL of the API definiton is displayed in the top bar of Swagger UI – in your example it's /v2/api-docs?group=full-petstore-api