External Data Sources

External data sources let you connect Brainfish to systems where your team already maintains content. Once a source is connected, Brainfish keeps your AI agents' knowledge current automatically, so you don't have to manually copy content between platforms.

Where to find External Data

In the Brainfish platform navigation, open Knowledge → External data.

You'll see a card for every connected source with its current sync status, last sync time, and a three-dot menu for editing the configuration or running a manual sync.

Connecting a source

The setup flow is the same for every source type:

1. Click + Source.
2. Pick a source type from the list.
3. Enter the source name and the credentials Brainfish needs (usually an API key — see the per-source guides below).
4. Pick the catalog scope (specific spaces / categories / collections, or "all").
5. Toggle Enable daily sync to keep content current.
6. Click + Add Source.

For the generic walkthrough, see Connecting a New External Data Source. For daily sync details, see How do I enable the Content Sync?.

Supported sources

Help desk knowledge bases

• Zendesk Knowledge Sync

• Intercom Knowledge Sync · helper: How to get Intercom access token

• Freshdesk Knowledge Sync

• Helpscout Knowledge Sync

• HelpJuice Knowledge Sync

Wikis and product docs

• Notion Knowledge Sync

• Confluence — How to Connect

• ReadMe V2 Knowledge Sync (recommended)

Developer / API content

• OpenAPI Specification (OAS) API Documentation Sync

• Brainfish OAS GitHub Actions Sync — automate OAS uploads from a repo on every PR.

• Create Knowledge from GitHub PRs — auto-generate KB drafts from merged code changes.

Web crawls and exports

• Website Knowledge Sync — crawl or pin specific pages from a public site.

• HubSpot CSV Export — export Brainfish content into a HubSpot-import-friendly CSV.

Managing connected sources

Once connected, each source becomes a catalog:

• Enable / disable. Three-dot menu on a card → Enabled / Disabled. Disabled sources stop syncing and are hidden from agents.

• Per-agent access. Open the relevant Agent → Knowledge Settings to pick which sources it can answer from. Defaults to "All sources".

• Explicit matching. To pin specific sources for specific user segments (e.g., Premium customers see the premium-only catalog), see How to Use Explicit Matching for Knowledge Sources.

• Review queue. Some sources (Discover, Slack threads, PR drafts) produce suggestions that route to Knowledge → Articles → Knowledge waiting for your review instead of publishing directly. See Generate, Review, and Publish Knowledge Base Article Suggestions.

Troubleshooting

• Missing External Data option: confirm you have admin or knowledge-manager permissions on the workspace.

• Source stuck in "Syncing": open the card; if it shows the same status for more than an hour, click the three-dot menu and trigger a manual sync.

• Articles not showing up in agent answers: confirm the source is Enabled and that the agent's Knowledge Settings include the source.

• Need a source not listed here? Contact your account team or hello@brainfi.sh — connector requests are reviewed quarterly.

Related

• For creating content directly in Brainfish, see Creating & Managing Articles.

• For migrating an entire content base into Brainfish in one go, see Migrating and Bulk-Importing Content.