> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bindbee.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connection methods

> Choose between an API connector and an SFTP connector.

Data reaches Bindbee through an **API connector** or an **SFTP connector**. You meet the second where the vendor has no usable API or leaves out the models you need.

## The two connection types

|                  | API connector                  | SFTP connector                        |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| How data arrives | Bindbee calls the vendor's API | The customer's system exports a file  |
| Freshness        | Bindbee's sync schedule        | The customer's export schedule        |
| Coverage         | What the vendor's API exposes  | What the export was set up to include |
| Writes           | Often supported                | Generally not                         |

[Integrations](/get-started/integrations) lists the connection type per integration.

## API connectors

How the customer authorizes depends on the integration: most offer OAuth, where they sign in and approve access; others need an API key, token or certificate they generate first; some offer both.

The choice changes nothing about the data. It only changes what breaks later, and when. A token expires on its own. A key breaks when someone rotates it.
Either way, the fix is the same: [relink the connector](/guides/troubleshooting/connector-relink).

## SFTP connectors

Your customer sets up the file export themselves, following [Set up an SFTP connection](https://help.bindbee.dev/set-up-an-sftp-connection).

### Freshness follows their export

Data is as fresh as the last received file. Forcing a resync re-reads the last received file already there.

<Note>
  A delivery that quietly stops looks like frozen data. There is no error or failed sync. Use `modified_at`in response to check the last sync date.
</Note>

### The file is the ceiling on coverage

Anything outside that export cannot be fetched at all, and widening coverage means the customer changing it.

That also makes coverage vary between two customers on the same slug. To confirm what one connector returns, read its per-model breakdown - see [Sync status](/guides/troubleshooting/sync-status).

## Related

* [Integrations](/get-started/integrations) - the connection type for every integration
* [Connector relink](/guides/troubleshooting/connector-relink) - when OAuth tokens expire or keys are rotated
* [Sync status](/guides/troubleshooting/sync-status) - what a specific connector actually returned