Register Data Connections

Add and manage data sources in CRAFT so your team can ask questions about their data.

Data connections let your team point CRAFT at the databases and data sources they want to query and analyse. Once a data connection is registered, it appears as an option when your users start a data conversation in Talk2Data or run a data workflow.

Registering data connections requires organisation owner or admin permissions, or project admin permissions for project-scoped connections.

Where to find data connections

In the CRAFT platform, navigate to Data Connectors in the main sidebar. This page lists all data connections registered in your organisation.

Supported connection types

CRAFT supports connecting to a range of data source types. The exact list depends on which data connectors have been enabled for your deployment — contact your platform operator if you need a connector that is not shown.

Common connection types include:

Type	Examples
Relational database	PostgreSQL, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, Snowflake
Data warehouse	Databricks, Azure Synapse
File storage	CSV or Excel files uploaded directly to the platform

Register a new data connection

1. Open the Data Connectors page

   Navigate to Data Connectors in the main sidebar and select Add Connection.

2. Select the connection type

   Choose the type of data source you want to connect. The form will update to show the fields required for that connection type.

3. Enter connection details

   Fill in the connection settings for your data source:

   • Name: a descriptive name your team will recognise (for example, “Production Analytics DB” or “Customer Data Warehouse”)
   • Host / endpoint: the address of your database server
   • Database name: the specific database to connect to
   • Port: the connection port (CRAFT pre-fills the default for most database types)

   Use a descriptive name — this is what your users will see when they select a data source to query. “postgres-db-01” is harder to find than “Customer Analytics — Snowflake”.

4. Enter credentials

   Enter the credentials CRAFT should use to connect to your data source. Use a dedicated read-only service account wherever possible — CRAFT only needs read access to run queries.

   Credentials are stored securely and are not visible after you save the connection.

   Do not use a personal account or an admin account for the data connection. Use a service account with the minimum permissions required (read-only access to the relevant schemas or tables).

5. Test the connection

   Select Test Connection before saving. CRAFT will attempt to connect to your data source using the credentials you entered. If the test fails, check:

   • That the host address and port are correct
   • That the service account has been granted access to the database from the CRAFT platform’s network
   • That firewall rules or IP allowlists include the CRAFT platform’s egress IP addresses (ask your platform operator for these)
6. Save and assign to projects

   After a successful connection test, save the connection. You can then assign it to one or more projects so that project members can use it in their data conversations.

Edit or remove a data connection

To update the credentials or settings for an existing connection, select the connection on the Data Connectors page and choose Edit. To remove a connection, choose Delete — this will make the connection unavailable to all projects that use it.

Deleting a data connection will break any saved conversations or workflows that reference it. Make sure users are aware before removing a connection that is in active use.

Assign a connection to a project

Data connections can be scoped to specific projects so that only users in that project can access them. To assign a connection, open the connection’s detail page and select Assign to Project, then choose the project from the list.

For more information on how data connections work within the CRAFT platform, see Data Connections.