Ingest a source system
Connect a source and pull a sample so there's data to audit.
By the end you’ll be able to
- Understand the read-only source-adapter model.
- Sample a connected source to preview its data.
- Recognise which adapters cover incremental sync, sampling, code-lists and a data dictionary.
DataBridge ingests from source systems through read-only adapters. Every adapter implements the same `SourceAdapter` contract from `@databridge/adapter-spec` — health check, schema discovery, sampling, row streaming, code-lists, dictionary, get-by-id — so the rest of the platform doesn't care whether the source is SITS, Banner, Workday, Colleague or Unit4. The capability matrix you saw in the previous lesson is derived from each adapter's declared capabilities (`docs/CONNECTOR_MATRIX.md`).
Connecting a source is a configuration step, not a migration: you give the adapter the credentials (via the secrets backend), the platform verifies reachability with a health check, and the adapter is ready to sample or stream. Source data is never copied wholesale — DataBridge reads what it needs to audit and to build returns, on the schedule you set.
Sampling is the fastest way to confirm a connection works and a source has the shape you expect. The `/v1/adapters/:id/sample` route returns a small, deterministic set of rows from a chosen entity — students, courses, modules — so you can eyeball the source-native field names and values before you point an audit at it.
In this lesson you'll open the Integrations console for the demo institution, see the adapters wired up, and view a sample. Demo mode simulates the credentials so the sample comes back instantly, with no real source behind it.
Walkthrough
- Open Integrations
1.Open the Integrations console
Browse the connected source systems for the demo institution. Each one is a `SourceAdapter` with declared capabilities.
- View adapters
2.Inspect the adapter inventory
See the full list of source adapters, their preferred auth, and what each one supports (incremental, sampling, code-lists, dictionary).
- Open guide
3.Read the connector matrix
Open the published capability matrix to see how the demo's adapters sit in the broader estate (UK + AU, REST vs JDBC, OAuth2 vs db-credentials).
Your turn
Open the Integrations console and confirm at least one source adapter is connected for the demo institution.
Hint: Use the 'Open Integrations' step above — it takes you straight there.