Flow types in Connector Builder

There are three main types of flows that you can use as building blocks in Connector Builder:

Action flows

Use action flows to create action cards that allow end users to perform an "action" against a service, to address their business use cases or automate common processes.

This is the only flow type in Connector Builder which users can use to build flows on the Okta Workflows platform. Use action flows in Connector Builder to build action cards such as Custom API Action, Create User, or Search Files.

System flows

Another flow type in Connector Builder is the system flows that form the foundation for a connector and that connector's action cards. System flows are similar to actions, but these are hidden from users and are used only by the platform.

Authping

The authping flow is one such system flow. The authping flow checks the connection for a connector. It's used to verify that a particular card is connected and communicating with the external third-party service.

Revoke

Another system flow is the revoke flow. This flow allows you to revoke a connection's access token.

Revoking the token prevents the token from remaining active, even after the token is deleted from the Workflows platform. This keeps anyone from viewing the permissions granted to Workflows in an external application's third-party access listing.

By implementing a revoke flow, users can revoke an access token from the Connections page or from any card belonging to that connector.

Webhook events

Webhooks are a way for different online services or applications to communicate with each other in near-real time. They allow an application to send data to another application when a specific event occurs. This mechanism is commonly used to automate processes and keep different systems in sync without the need for constant manual intervention.

A webhook event flow often includes a registration and a deregistration event for subscribing to the external service.

Webhook registration

Webhook registration is the process of establishing a connection between systems to enable the exchange of real-time information. When you register a webhook, you're essentially telling one system where to send data when a specific event occurs in another system.

Webhook deregistration

Webhook deregistration is the process of disabling a previously established webhook connection. For example, if you no longer need to receive certain event notifications, or if you're switching to a different endpoint, or decommissioning the webhook altogether.

Helper flows

In addition to action and system flows, helper flows are called by other flows within your connector project. They can be used for many purposes, like iterating through a data set or for performing shared tasks such as authorization.

Related topics

Build an _authping flow

Build a revoke flow

Build a webhook event flow

Register a webhook event

Deregister a webhook event