Connectors are fundamental components in the Agentforce Context Protocol (ACP) that act as standardized interfaces or “bridges” to specific external systems, Salesforce clouds, or other data sources. They abstract the complexities of interacting with each system’s unique API, providing a consistent way for Agentforce agents to access their capabilities through ACP Tools.

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What is a Connector?

Think of a Connector as a specialized adapter or translator. Each Connector is designed to:

  1. Interface with a Specific System: A Connector is built for a particular target system, like Salesforce Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Google Workspace, Slack, a specific database, or any other enterprise application.
  2. Expose System Capabilities as Tools: It translates the native functions of the target system into a set of standardized Tools that can be understood and invoked by Agentforce agents via ACP. For example, a Slack Connector might offer Tools like post_message, list_channels, or get_user_info.
  3. Handle Communication and Authentication: The Connector manages the low-level details of communication, including network protocols, data formatting (e.g., JSON, XML), and authentication mechanisms required by the target system.
  4. Register with the ACP Registry: Once deployed, a Connector registers itself and the Tools it provides with the ACP Registry, making its capabilities discoverable.

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Key Characteristics of Connectors

  • Abstraction: Connectors hide the underlying complexity of target system APIs. Agents interact with a consistent ACP interface regardless of the system on the other side.
  • Standardization: They ensure that interactions with different systems follow the ACP request/response patterns, simplifying agent development.
  • Modularity: Connectors are self-contained units. New systems can be integrated into the ACP ecosystem by developing and deploying new Connectors without impacting existing ones or the core ACP framework.
  • Discoverability: Through the ACP Registry, the presence of a Connector and the Tools it offers are made known to the entire ACP environment.
  • Security Context: Connectors often operate within a specific security context, managing credentials (e.g., via Named Credentials in Salesforce) and ensuring that interactions adhere to the permissions granted for the connection.
  • Automated Agentforce Topic Generation: Each ACP Connector automatically makes its capabilities available in Agentforce Agent Builder as a ‘Topic’. This Topic groups all related Tools (as Actions) from the Connector, simplifying the process of adding a comprehensive set of skills to your Agentforce Agents.

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How Connectors Relate to Other ACP Concepts

  • Tools: Connectors are the providers of Tools. Each Tool is implemented by a specific Connector.
  • ACP Registry: Connectors register with the Registry, making themselves and their Tools discoverable.
  • Agentforce Agents: Agentforce Agents use the Tools exposed by Connectors (discovered via the Registry, and often made available as pre-built Actions within Topics in Agentforce Agent Builder) to perform actions and retrieve information.

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Example Scenario

Imagine an Agentforce Agent needs to update a customer record in Salesforce Sales Cloud and then send a notification to a Slack channel.

  1. The agent (or an administrator configuring the agent in Agentforce Agent Builder) queries the ACP Registry or browses available Topics to find relevant Tools/Actions.
  2. It discovers a update_contact Tool (Action) provided by the Salesforce Sales Cloud Connector (available under its Topic) and a post_message Tool (Action) provided by the Slack Connector (available under its Topic).
  3. The agent invokes update_contact via the Sales Cloud Connector, which handles the authentication and API call to Salesforce.
  4. The agent then invokes post_message via the Slack Connector, which handles authentication and posts the message to the specified Slack channel.

Connectors are the workhorses that make ACP a versatile and powerful protocol, enabling seamless interaction across a diverse landscape of enterprise systems.

For details on specific connectors and how to configure them, see the Connectors section.

Return to Core Concepts Overview.