Integrations: OAuth (GitHub and Slack)

The Integrations page is where you connect provider accounts to your RetainDB organization.

Right now, the main interactive flows here are GitHub and Slack. Both are org-level integrations, which means they unlock later source workflows but do not automatically put data into a project by themselves.

What this page is for

Use /dashboard/settings/integrations when you want to:

• connect GitHub and browse available repos
• connect Slack and confirm workspace access
• choose a Slack channel for tests or notifications
• disconnect and reconnect a provider cleanly

The important distinction

An integration is not the same thing as a source.

Think of it this way:

• integration = RetainDB is allowed to talk to the provider
• source = data from that provider is attached to a specific project and can be synced

If OAuth succeeded but your project still feels empty, that usually means the integration is connected and the source was never created.

GitHub workflow

The GitHub section is for:

• connecting your GitHub account or org
• verifying that RetainDB can see repositories
• launching the next step that turns a repo into a source

Use it when you want to make repo content available to retrieval later, not when you need an immediate search result on the same screen.

Slack workflow

The Slack section is for:

• connecting a Slack workspace
• verifying the workspace name
• listing available channels
• setting the active channel for tests
• disconnecting or reauthorizing if scopes change

This page tells you whether the Slack integration is healthy. It does not replace the source sync flow if you want channels ingested into project context.

Recommended flow

1. Connect the provider here.
2. Verify the account or workspace shows up correctly.
3. Go to the sources page and create the project-specific source.
4. Wait for sync to complete.
5. Test retrieval from the same project.

Common mistakes

Expecting OAuth to ingest data automatically

It usually does not. The connection is just the permission layer.

Forgetting to choose the project later

Integrations are org-level, but retrieval happens in project scope.

Using manual setup when native OAuth exists

For GitHub and Slack, start with the built-in integration flow unless you have an advanced reason not to.

When to reconnect

Reconnect if:

• the provider revoked access
• repo or workspace data stopped listing
• required scopes changed
• tests fail after a previously healthy setup

Next step

Once the provider is connected, move to sources: add, sync, and troubleshoot to create the actual source. If you want the connector-level docs first, start at choose a connector.