Power Platform connectors are the integration layer of Power Automate, Power Apps, and Logic Apps. Each connector wraps an external service or Microsoft service API into a set of standardized triggers and actions that can be used without writing code. There are over 1,000 connectors covering everything from Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 to Salesforce, Slack, GitHub, and hundreds of other services.
Finding the right connector and understanding its capabilities — actions, triggers, limits, and authentication requirements — is the starting point for any Power Platform integration.
Connector Types
Standard connectors
Included with all Power Platform licenses. Connectors for commonly used Microsoft services (Office 365, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive) and popular third-party services (Twitter, Google services, Dropbox).
Premium connectors
Require a per-user premium license or a pay-as-you-go plan. Connectors for enterprise services (Salesforce, SAP, Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations, SQL Server) and advanced capabilities.
Custom connectors
Build your own connector by providing an OpenAPI (Swagger) definition or by manually configuring endpoints. Custom connectors wrap any HTTP API and make it available to flows and apps just like a built-in connector.
Connector Anatomy
Triggers
Triggers start a flow. They listen for an event in the connected service.
Polling triggers — The connector checks the service on a schedule (every minute, every 5 minutes) and fires when new data is found. Example: SharePoint "When a new item is created" checks for new list items periodically.
Webhook triggers — The connected service pushes a notification to Power Platform when an event occurs. These are near-real-time. Example: GitHub "When a pull request is opened" fires immediately via webhook.
Instant triggers — Fired manually or from a button in Power Apps. Example: the manual trigger for testing.
Actions
Actions perform operations in the connected service. Most connectors provide actions for the standard CRUD operations:
- Create/Add a record
- Get/Read a record
- Update/Modify a record
- Delete a record
- List/Search records
More advanced actions include: send an email, create a file, post a message, start an approval, trigger a pipeline.
Connections
Each connector instance requires a connection — stored credentials that authenticate the connector to the external service. Connections can be shared across flows or made personal. Authentication methods vary by connector: OAuth2, API key, basic auth, or Windows authentication.
Reading Connector Documentation
For each connector, the reference documentation shows:
Actions table:
| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Display name | The name as it appears in Power Automate |
| Operation ID | The technical identifier (CreateItem, GetUser) |
| Parameters | Input fields with types, required/optional |
| Returns | Output schema |
Throttling limits:
Most connectors have API call limits. Exceeding them returns 429 (Too Many Requests) errors. Limits are typically expressed as calls per connection per minute.
Known issues and limitations:
Connectors often have documented limitations — file size limits, unsupported field types, pagination behaviors, regions where the connector is unavailable.
Using the DevHexLab Connector Reference
The connector reference browser lets you:
- Search connectors by name, category, or keyword
- Filter by type — standard vs premium vs custom
- Browse actions and triggers for each connector with parameter details
- Check throttling limits for planning high-volume flows
- Find alternatives when a connector does not have the action you need
Finding the right connector for a task
Instead of browsing all 1,000+ connectors, search by the service name or the action you want to perform:
- "Send SMS" → Twilio, MessageBird, or the Azure Communication Services connector
- "Create calendar event" → Office 365 Outlook, Google Calendar
- "Post to Slack" → Slack connector (actions: Post message, Create channel)
- "Store a file" → SharePoint, OneDrive, Azure Blob Storage, Dropbox
When to use HTTP vs. a named connector
If a service has a named connector, use it — it handles authentication and operation mapping for you. Use the HTTP connector (or a custom connector) when:
- The service has no named connector
- You need an endpoint the connector does not expose
- You need fine-grained control over headers or request bodies
Common Integration Patterns
Trigger → Transform → Action
The most common flow pattern: something happens (trigger), process or enrich the data (compose, filter array, apply to each), do something with the result (action).
Error handling with scope + run after
Wrap risky actions in a scope. Add a parallel branch that runs "has failed" to handle errors gracefully and send alert notifications.
Pagination in List actions
Many connectors return paginated results. Enable pagination in the action settings to automatically retrieve all pages up to the configured limit.
Conclusion
Understanding the Power Platform connector ecosystem — what connectors exist, what actions they expose, and what their limits are — is essential for building efficient flows. The DevHexLab Connector Reference gives you a fast way to browse and search the full connector catalog without navigating Microsoft's documentation site.