Pipedream Connect provides a proxy API that you can use to send authenticated requests to any integrated API on behalf of your users. This is useful in a few scenarios:
  1. You need code-level control and you want to use Pipedream’s OAuth instead of your own OAuth client
  2. There isn’t a pre-built tool (action) for the app, or you need to modify the request
  3. You want to avoid storing end user credentials in your app

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Overview

The Connect proxy enables you to interface with any integrated API and make authenticated requests on behalf of your users, without dealing with OAuth or storing end user credentials.
  1. You send a request to the proxy and identify the end user you want to act on behalf of
  2. The proxy sends the request to the upstream API and dynamically inserts your end user’s auth credentials
  3. The proxy returns the response from the upstream API back to you
Before getting started with the Connect proxy, make sure you’ve already gone through the managed auth quickstart for Pipedream Connect.

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Getting started

You can send requests to the Connect proxy using either the Pipedream SDK with a fetch-style interface or the Pipedream REST API.

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Prerequisites

Refer to the full Connect API here.

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Authenticating on behalf of your users

One of the core benefits of using the Connect API Proxy is not having to deal with storing or retrieving sensitive credentials for your end users. Since Pipedream has + integrated apps, we know how the upstream APIs are expecting to receive access tokens or API keys. When you send a request to the proxy, Pipedream will look up the corresponding connected account for the relevant user, and automatically insert the authorization credentials in the appropriate header or URL param.

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Sending requests

When making requests to the Connect Proxy, you must provide the following parameters:

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Request parameters

URL
  • The URL of the API you want to call (ex, https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage)
  • When using the REST API, this should be a URL-safe Base64 encoded string (ex, aHR0cHM6Ly9zbGFjay5jb20vYXBpL2NoYXQucG9zdE1lc3NhZ2U)
For apps with dynamic domains (like Zendesk, Zoho, GitLab), you should use relative paths in your proxy requests. Pipedream automatically resolves the correct domain based on the user’s connected account. See When to use relative vs full URLs for details.
HTTP method
  • Use the HTTP method required by the upstream API
Body
  • Optionally include a body to send to the upstream API
Headers
  • If using the REST API, include the Authorization header with your Pipedream OAuth access token (Bearer {access_token})
  • Headers that contain the prefix x-pd-proxy will get forwarded to the upstream API

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Examples

import { createBackendClient } from "@pipedream/sdk/server";
 
const pd = createBackendClient({
  environment: {development | production},
  projectId: {your_pipedream_project_id},
  credentials: {
    clientId: {your_oauth_client_id},
    clientSecret: {your_oauth_client_secret}
  },
});
 
 
const resp = await pd.makeProxyRequest(
  {
    searchParams: {
      account_id: "{account_id}", // The account ID for your end user (ex, apn_1234567)
      external_user_id: "{external_user_id}", // The external user ID for your end user
    }
  },
  {
    url: "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage", // Include any query params you need; no need to Base64 encode the URL if using the SDK
    options: {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        hello: "world!" // Include any headers you need to send to the upstream API
      },
      body: {
        text: "hello, world",
        channel: "C03NA8B4VA9"
      },
    },
  }
)
 
// Parse and return the data you need
console.log(resp);

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Allowed domains

The vast majority of apps in Pipedream work with the Connect Proxy. To check if an app is supported and what domains are allowed, use pd.getApps() or the /apps REST API.

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Understanding the Connect object

Each app in the /apps API response includes a connect object: 
{
  "id": "app_1Z2hw1",
  "name_slug": "gitlab",
  "name": "GitLab",
  // ...other fields...
  "connect": {
    "proxy_enabled": true,
    "allowed_domains": ["gitlab.com"],
    "base_proxy_target_url": "https://{{custom_fields.base_api_url}}"
  }
}
FieldDescription
proxy_enabledWhether the app supports the Connect Proxy
allowed_domainsDomains you can send requests to when using full URLs
base_proxy_target_urlThe base URL for proxy requests, may contain placeholders for account-specific values

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When to use relative vs full URLs

The format of base_proxy_target_url determines whether you should use a relative path or full URL:

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Apps with static domains

If base_proxy_target_url is a standard URL (e.g., https://slack.com), you can use either:
  • Full URL: https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage
  • Relative path: /api/chat.postMessage

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Apps with dynamic domains

If base_proxy_target_url contains placeholders like {{custom_fields.base_api_url}}, you must use relative paths. This applies to:
  • Self-hosted instances (GitLab)
  • Apps with account-specific subdomains (Zendesk, Zoho)
For these apps, Pipedream resolves the actual domain from the user’s connected account at runtime.

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Examples

// Both work
await pd.makeProxyRequest({...}, {
  url: "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage"
})
 
await pd.makeProxyRequest({...}, {
  url: "/api/chat.postMessage"
})

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Discovering app support programmatically

const apps = await pd.getApps()
 
// Filter for apps that support the proxy
const proxyEnabledApps = apps.filter(app => app.connect?.proxy_enabled)
Filter the response for apps where connect.proxy_enabled is true.

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Restricted headers

The following headers are not allowed when making requests through the Connect API Proxy. Requests that include these headers will be rejected with a 400 error:
  • ACCEPT-ENCODING
  • ACCESS-CONTROL-REQUEST-HEADERS
  • ACCESS-CONTROL-REQUEST-METHOD
  • CONNECTION
  • CONTENT-LENGTH
  • COOKIE
  • DATE
  • DNT
  • EXPECT
  • HOST
  • KEEP-ALIVE
  • ORIGIN
  • PERMISSIONS-POLICY
  • REFERER
  • TE
  • TRAILER
  • TRANSFER-ENCODING
  • UPGRADE
  • VIA
  • NOTE
  • Headers starting with PROXY-
  • Headers starting with SEC-

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Limits

  • The Connect Proxy limits API requests to 1,000 requests per 5 minutes per project. Requests that surpass this limit will receive a 429 response.
  • The maximum timeout for a request is 30 seconds. Requests that take longer than 30 seconds will be terminated, and Pipedream will return a 504 error to the caller.
Please let us know if you need higher limits.