# Intro to Connector ## Intro to Connectors Our connectors are split into 3 types: OAuth connectors, token-based connectors, and a mix of the two. They only differ by how you authorize Less to extract your data. ### OAuth Connectors OAuth is short for **O**pen **Auth**orization and is essentially an automatic way to give access to third-party solutions like Less. You know those pop-ups that ask "Allow *XYZ application* to read user data..."? That's probably an OAuth authorization. We always strive to create OAuth connectors because they are the simplest to use. Whenever you see a pop-up like the one below on Less, you know that it is an OAuth connector.

OAuth Connection

### Regular Connectors OAuth doesn't exist for all data sources. When OAuth isn't an option, we have to get by with some manual copy/paste. Typically, that means that we ask you for an API Key or maybe a Token of some kind. You have to find or create that token and copy/paste it into Less. We know that's not ideal which is why we prefer OAuth. {% hint style="info" %} 🔑 We have created guides for every single Connector that will ask for some kind of manual input {% endhint %} Whenever you see something like the one below, you know it is a regular connector.