---
title: About integrations
url: https://documentation.cluedin.net/ingest/connectors/about-integrations
content_type: concept
section: Ingest > Connectors
---

# About integrations

> concept: Explains how something works.

When CluedIn is running, the first step is to feed it with data. You decide which data to add, and this is done through integrations. You have two options:

- [Install an existing integration](https://documentation.cluedin.net/ingest/connectors/install-integrations.md)
- Build a custom integration

> **Important:** When you install CluedIn, you get access to out-of-the-box integrations. Contact us if you need help configuring or enabling them. We can also implement custom integrations on request.

## Types of integrations

There are two main types of integrations:

- Providers

- Enrichers

## Providers

Providers allow you to add data into CluedIn:

- They can connect to cloud tools, databases, file systems, and so on.

- They extract the data you want and format it so CluedIn can understand it.

There are many providers available in our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/CluedIn-io). You can also [build your own providers](https://documentation.cluedin.net/develop/integrations/build-integration.md), but this requires C# coding experience.

Common provider types include:
* [Crawlers](https://github.com/CluedIn-io?q=crawl&type=public)
* [Connectors](https://github.com/CluedIn-io?q=connect&type=public)

## Enrichers

Enrichers add extra information to data that is already in CluedIn:

- Data in CluedIn is structured as entities (similar to records) – for example, a person, a company, or a task.

- An enricher uses the existing information in CluedIn to query external systems for additional details about that entity.

We have a list of available enrichers in our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/CluedIn-io?q=enricher&type=public). You can also [build your own enrichers](https://documentation.cluedin.net/develop/build-custom-enricher.md) if you have some C# coding experience.

Up: [Connectors](https://documentation.cluedin.net/ingest/connectors.md)