--- schema_version: "1" id: 7fbacc1fe6f49aa644d6229f3ced874f1216f2833f83b2ff2641ea0dd95fb23f title: Connecting to an External System with a Connector collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/automate_concepts_use_mulesoft_for_flow.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_concepts_use_mulesoft_for_flow.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 229f36df5856ee565896bf196126d7c4303faef98e1ab736695ba129d2e3f5f0 description: "You can use MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors in any flow type to connect a flow's actions to an external system. To trigger a flow when an external system changes, select the External System Change-Triggered flow type." products: - Flow Builder - Salesforce Platform release: "264" --- # Connecting to an External System with a Connector You can use MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors in any flow type to connect a flow's actions to an external system. To trigger a flow when an external system changes, select the External System Change-Triggered flow type. ### Required Editions
View supported editions.
This feature requires the MuleSoft for Flow: Integration add-on. Exceptions are segment-triggered flows, activation-triggered flows, and broadcast flows, which don't require the MuleSoft for Flow: Integration add-on. Professional Edition requires the API access add-on. To purchase an add-on, contact your Salesforce account executive.
MuleSoft for Flow: Integration features used with Agentforce require the Foundations or Agentforce 1 edition. To purchase these editions, contact your Salesforce account executive.
## Connect to an External System You can reference a MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connector in two ways within your flow. To initiate a flow based on [external system changes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_ala_connections_create_connection.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Create a connection to an external system in the Automation app."), use an [External System Change-Triggered flow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_build_flow_esct_third_party_as_trigger.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "To trigger a flow when a change happens in a third-party system, use an External System Change-Triggered flow. A poller checks for new records on a schedule and creates flow interviews when records are found. Create the flow from scratch or from a template."). This flow type uses the connector to poll the external system for matching triggers at your specified interval. Alternatively, [add the connector's action to a new or existing flow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_build_flow_esct_third_party_as_action.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "To integrate your flow with an external system, add MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors as actions to all existing flow types. You can add connectors to flows that trigger external system changes, records, schedules, Data Cloud-triggered flows, or autolaunched flows.") to any new or existing flow to push changes to an external system. ![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_important.png) Important External System Change-Triggered flows use a poller to fetch records on the selected schedule. **Polling Behavior and Deactivation** - **Retries:** When polling fails, the flow tries again up to 3 consecutive times. - **Automatic Deactivation:** Happens after the third consecutive poller failure. This behavior applies to poller-level failures (for example, authentication or connectivity), but doesn't apply to individual record-level failures. - **Reactivation:** If poller failure deactivates the flow, resolve the underlying issue and reactivate the flow manually. **Poller Limits and Exceptions** - **Pre-execution Failures:** If the poller fails before execution starts, no fault path is available at the **Start** element. - **Payload Limits:** A poll response that exceeds 128,000 characters (including data and metadata) exceeds the payload limit. For limits and full behavior details, see [MuleSoft for Flow: Integration Limits & Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_considerations_mulesoft_for_flow_limits.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When establishing connections to external systems, keep these limitations in mind."). To create a flow that uses a connector as an action, select one of these [flow types](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_concepts_type.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "A flow's type determines which elements and resources you can add and how you can distribute the flow. For example, you embed a screen flow on a page to gather information from visitors; or you distribute an autolaunched flow by using a custom button that users click to run the flow in the background. Similarly, you can add a Custom Error element only in a record-triggered flow, whereas you can add a Choice resource type only in a screen flow."): - Autolaunched Flow - Contact Request Flow - Individual-Object Linking Flow - Platform Event-Triggered Flow - Recommendation Strategy (Next Best Action NBA) - Record Triggered Flow - Schedule Triggered Flow - Screen Flows - User Provisioning Flow ![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_note.png) Note You can edit or delete connections only in the Automation app. For an overview of how to set up MuleSoft for Flow: Integration and to create automated connections between systems, refer to [Get Started with MuleSoft for Flow: Integration](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_get_started_mfi.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use MuleSoft for Flow: Integration to create automated connections between systems, so you can keep data up-to-date, reduce manual work, and respond faster to business events."). - **[Understand MuleSoft for Flow: Integration Features](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_concepts_understand_mfi_features.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Optimize and scale your business processes by using pre-built templates, automated versioning, and advanced trigger logic to manage MuleSoft for Flow: Integration flows. - **[Understand Value Maps in MuleSoft for Flow: Integration](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_concepts_value_maps.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Use value maps to translate source values to target values by using a reusable global resource across flows. - **[Get Started with MuleSoft for Flow: Integration](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_get_started_mfi.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Use MuleSoft for Flow: Integration to create automated connections between systems, so you can keep data up-to-date, reduce manual work, and respond faster to business events. - **[Create a Flow with a Connector as a Trigger](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_build_flow_esct_third_party_as_trigger.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** To trigger a flow when a change happens in a third-party system, use an External System Change-Triggered flow. A poller checks for new records on a schedule and creates flow interviews when records are found. Create the flow from scratch or from a template. - **[Create a Flow with a Connector as an Action](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_build_flow_esct_third_party_as_action.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** To integrate your flow with an external system, add MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors as actions to all existing flow types. You can add connectors to flows that trigger external system changes, records, schedules, Data Cloud-triggered flows, or autolaunched flows. - **[Create and Manage Value Maps](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_build_manage_value_maps.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Create, update, and delete value maps from the Global Flow Resources page to reuse mapping logic across flows. - **[Create, Evolve, and Summarize MuleSoft for Flow: Integration Flows with Agentforce (Beta)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_flow_build_create_and_evolve_integration_flows_with_agentforce.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Use natural language to generate AI-powered MuleSoft for Flow: Integration flows that connect your org to external systems and then edit or summarize existing flows by using Agentforce.