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Connecting with External Systems and Data
With a Get Records element, you can easily look up your Salesforce data in a flow. But what if you need data that lives outside of Salesforce? Connect your flow to external systems using built-in Salesforce features such as MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors, HTTP callout actions, API Catalog, or by using MuleSoft RPA processes as external services. To extract data from documents, use MuleSoft for Flow: IDP
Required Editions
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MuleSoft for Flow: Integration Connectors
Connect to external systems using prebuilt MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors that provide no-code connectivity. Connectors are the easiest way to integrate with popular external systems such as NetSuite, QuickBooks, and Jira. For a list of available connectors, see MuleSoft for Flow: Integration Connectors. After you select a connector, you configure the connection and it's ready to send and receive data in your flow.
When to use: Choose MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors when you need to integrate with a popular external system that Salesforce supports. This is the fastest and easiest way to connect to external systems.
Best for: Popular business applications, systems with established connectors, scenarios where you want the fastest setup time, and integrations that don't require custom API logic.
Example use cases: Sync customer data with NetSuite, create tickets in Jira when cases are escalated, or update QuickBooks when opportunities are won.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Synchronous; Asynchronous.
HTTP Callout Action
Make direct API calls to external systems without writing code. Use HTTP Callout to pull or send data between your flow and any external system that provides REST APIs. You configure the API endpoint, authentication, and data mapping directly in Flow Builder.
When to use: Choose the HTTP Callout action when you need to integrate with an API that uses an HTTP protocol and doesn't have a MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connector available. This is ideal for REST APIs with standard authentication methods and in situations where the connection is used in one flow only.
Best for: Custom integrations, third-party APIs without MuleSoft for Flow: Integration connectors, systems that provide REST endpoints, and scenarios where you need real-time data exchange with full control over the API call.
Example use cases: Send customer data to an external marketing automation tool, retrieve shipping rates from a logistics API, or sync inventory data with an external e-commerce system.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Synchronous; Asynchronous.
API Catalog
Access pre-built integrations to external systems through supported sources such as MuleSoft, Heroku, and Apex. Salesforce admins make API operations available as actions using API Catalog.
Within Flow Builder, you can browse and use the actions in flows without having to manually create the connections. You can select specific connections for each MuleSoft API action, streamlining the process of integrating with external systems across your org.
When to use: Choose API Catalog when your Salesforce admin has already set up integrations and made them available as actions. This is ideal for organizations with established MuleSoft or Heroku integrations.
Best for: Pre-configured integrations, MuleSoft-based connections, Heroku applications, and scenarios where admins want to control which integrations are available in flows.
Example use cases: Use a pre-configured MuleSoft connector to sync data with SAP, access a Heroku application for document processing, or leverage admin-configured Apex actions for complex business logic.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Synchronous; Asynchronous.
MuleSoft Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Interact with desktop and web applications that don't have APIs using MuleSoft RPA. Register your published MuleSoft RPA processes as external services, and then use them in flows. MuleSoft RPA can interact with legacy systems and launch browsers, control desktop applications, extract data, and automate user interactions.
When to use: Choose MuleSoft RPA when you have existing MuleSoft RPA processes built in Anypoint Platform that you want to integrate with flows, or when you need to interact with systems that don't provide APIs or standard integration methods.
Best for: Desktop applications without APIs, web applications that require user interface interaction, legacy systems, and scenarios where you want to leverage existing MuleSoft RPA investments within your flows.
Example use cases: Extract customer data from a legacy desktop application and create Salesforce records, automate form filling on external websites, or control browser interactions to gather data from web-based systems.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Asynchronous.
MuleSoft for Flow: IDP
Extract structured data from unstructured documents such as PDFs, images, and forms using MuleSoft for Flow: IDP. Document processing uses AI to understand document structure and extract relevant information, making it ideal for processing business documents that don't have accessible APIs.
When to use: Choose MuleSoft for Flow: Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) when you need to extract data from documents that arrive in various formats and don't have structured APIs. Ideal for automating document-based workflows where manual data entry is time-consuming and error-prone.
Best for: Processing invoices, contracts, receipts, forms, and other business documents; scenarios where you need to validate extracted data with confidence thresholds; and workflows that require human review for low-confidence extractions.
Example use cases: Extract invoice details and create billing records, process customer applications and populate account information, automate expense report data entry from uploaded receipts, or extract contract terms and update opportunity records.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Synchronous.
External Services
Connect to external systems without writing a line of code. You tell us which endpoint and schema you want to use, and we generate the actions you can then use in Flow Builder. External Services supports OpenAPI 2.0 and 3.0 JSON and YAML schema formats.
When to use: Choose External Services when you have OpenAPI documentation for an external system and want a no-code solution. This is ideal for REST APIs with well-defined schemas.
Best for: Systems with OpenAPI documentation, REST APIs with JSON/YAML schemas, scenarios where you want generated actions, and integrations that don't require custom authentication logic.
Example use cases: Connect to a payment processing API with OpenAPI docs, integrate with a CRM system that provides API schemas, or connect to a data analytics platform with documented endpoints.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Synchronous; Asynchronous.
Platform Events
Deliver secure and expandable custom notifications within Salesforce or from external sources by using platform events. To publish event messages from your flow, add a Create Records element, where the specified object is the platform event. To subscribe to messages, add a Wait element.
When to use: Choose Platform Events when you need to send notifications or trigger processes asynchronously. This is ideal for decoupled systems and event-driven architectures.
Best for: Asynchronous messaging, event-driven integrations, notifications, and scenarios where you don't need immediate responses or real-time data exchange.
Example use cases: Notify external systems when a case is escalated, trigger a marketing campaign when a lead is qualified, or send order updates to a fulfillment system.
Supported integration options: Declarative; Server-Side; Asynchronous.
Apex and Custom Lightning Components
If you want more control, write your own Apex code or create a custom Lightning component
to integrate with an external system. To make your Apex code available in the Flow Builder,
use either the @InvocableMethod annotation or the
Process.Plugin interface. Custom Lightning components can contain local
actions that can call your local browser. All local actions appear in Flow Builder as Core
Action elements.
When to use: Choose Apex or custom Lightning components when you need custom integration logic that isn't available through other methods, or when you require complex data transformations and business logic.
Best for: Complex integrations, custom authentication requirements, advanced data processing, client-side interactions, and scenarios where existing integration options don't meet your specific needs.
Example use cases: Create custom authentication flows for proprietary APIs, build complex data transformation logic, or develop client-side components that interact with local browser resources.
Supported integration options: Client-Side (custom Lightning component only); Server-Side; Synchronous; Asynchronous.
- 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. - Connecting to an API Without a Connector Using HTTP Callout
Use HTTP Callout to connect flows to external APIs without coding, eliminating the need for developers or middleware tools. Flow Builder automatically generates external service registrations and Apex classes when you configure the action. Use the API response data as input in Salesforce. - Generate Flow Choice Options From External Data
If your business process interacts with external data, your users can select from it on flow screens. - Transform Data in a Flow
Automate how you transform data between Salesforce and an external system using the Transform element. You can create mappings between the source and target data, or set fixed values for the target data. - Use Existing MuleSoft RPA Processes with Flows
Register your existing MuleSoft RPA processes built in Anypoint Platform as external services to use in flows. - Extracting Data from Digital and Scanned Documents
Extract structured data from invoices, purchase orders, forms, and other unstructured or semi-structured documents using AI-powered analysis in Flow. Automate data entry and processing workflows by converting document content into structured information that can be used in your business processes. Use human review workflows to validate extracted data and ensure accuracy for critical business decisions.
