Connectors overview

By default, Google Cloud Search indexes all of your Google Workspace data. You can also create your own custom program, called a connector, to index data stored in a third-party repository. A connector can be a separate program, a script that runs in its own process, or an add-on to your repository.

There are two types of connectors: content connectors and identity connectors. Content connectors are used to traverse a repository and index the data so that Google Cloud Search can effectively search that data.

Identity connectors are used to map your enterprise's identities and group rosters to the Google accounts and groups used by Google Cloud Search. These mappings facilitate setting ACLs and search quality hints during indexing.

Note: Alternatively, you can push content from third party repositories directly to the Cloud Search index using the Indexing API. Integrations of third-party content repositories with the Cloud Search Indexing API can be developed and hosted by content providers, independent system integrators, or Cloud Search customers themselves.

Next steps

Here are a few next steps you might take:

• Several connectors have been built by Google and its partners. For a list of pre-built connectors, refer to the Cloud Search connector directory.

• For information on how to create a new content connector, refer to Create a content connector.

• For information on how to create a new identity connector, refer to Create an identity connector.