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Providers connect to Lava two ways: as Interactive Apps — live, signed-in tabs you work in beside the agent — and as Agent Connectors the agent calls for you in the background. Connect the providers you work with, and the agent works across all of them. For what those two surfaces mean, see Interactive Apps and Agent Connectors.
Prerequisites: Lava installed and signed in. See Install Lava Desktop if you haven’t done this yet.

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Connect a Provider

1

Open the picker

Click the + button at the bottom of the sidebar. The Connect Lava to providers screen opens with two tabs: Connected (what you’ve connected) and Browse providers (what you can still add).
2

Find your provider

Open Browse providers, or type in the search field — it searches every provider, app, and connector at once. Each card carries an App or Connector badge (or both) showing how the provider surfaces.
3

Connect it

Select Connect on the card (or Authorize for a connector that just needs authorizing). Lava starts the flow and the card tells you where to finish — in your browser for an authorization, or in the app’s tab for a sign-in.
4

Finish signing in

Complete the sign-in or authorization. An app appears as a new tab in your sidebar; a connector shows up under Agent Connectors on the Connected tab.

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Sign In

Providers connect in one of two ways, one per surface. Authorize the connector. Most providers open an authorization screen in your browser: approve access (or paste an API key) and Lava completes the connection. The agent can then call the provider on your behalf. Sign in on the app’s tab. Some apps open a full sign-in page inside their tab. Sign in as you normally would. Once you’re signed in, the tab is live and the agent can read it for context.
Authorizing the connector (so the agent can act through the provider) is separate from signing into the app’s tab (so you can see it) — connection state is per surface. If you’ve signed into an app but its connector isn’t authorized yet, the picker’s Complete setup section shows it with an Authorize button to finish.

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Connect Multiple Accounts for One App

Most connectors can hold more than one account, for example a personal Gmail and a work Gmail. Open the picker with +, find the app on the Connected tab, choose Add another account from its card menu, and sign in to the other account. Once two accounts are connected, Manage accounts in the same menu lists them, and you can rename, reconnect, or disconnect one on its own. When several accounts are connected, the agent uses the one you name, for example “check my work inbox,” and asks which one when you don’t. Routines use the default, the account you connected first. The app’s tab in the sidebar keeps whichever account you signed into there; it does not change with the connector. Lava Pay, and the apps you sign into only in their tab (LinkedIn, Claude, ChatGPT), hold one account each.

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Switch Between Apps

Click any tab in the sidebar to bring that app’s page into view. The agent panel on the right stays open across all apps. To show or hide the agent panel, press Cmd+\ (Mac) or Ctrl+\ (Windows). To control which apps appear in the sidebar, use a card’s menu on the picker’s Connected tab — Add to sidebar or Hide from sidebar — without affecting its connection.

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Remove an App

Removal has two sides, one per surface:
  • Take the app out of your sidebar. Open the picker with +, find the app on the Connected tab, and choose Hide from sidebar from its card menu. This changes only what your sidebar shows — the connection is untouched, and Add to sidebar brings it back anytime.
  • Revoke the agent’s access. To stop the agent from calling a provider, remove its credential from the Connected Providers page in your Lava dashboard. Signing out inside the app’s tab ends your tab session but does not revoke the connector.
Neither action signs you out of that app outside of Lava. Your account in Gmail, Slack, or another service is unaffected.

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What You Can Connect

Lava supports providers across email, calendar, messaging, CRM, notes, and more — plus Included Agent Connectors that work with no setup at all. For the full list organized by category, see Interactive Apps and Agent Connectors.

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Use your own key for an Included Connector

Some Included Agent Connectors, starting with ElevenLabs, can run on your own account instead of Lava’s. Choose Use your own key on its row and paste an API key from that provider. Calls then use your plan and credits, and Lava charges only its platform fee. If your key stops working (for example, it runs out of credits), calls fail with the provider’s error rather than switching back to Lava’s key. To go back to Lava’s key, choose Remove your key from the connector’s card menu.

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Troubleshooting

If a provider won’t connect or its tab stays blank, see Troubleshooting.

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Next Steps

Working with the Agent

Give the agent tasks, follow its progress, and approve what it does across your apps and connectors.

Interactive Apps and Agent Connectors

See every provider available to you, organized by category.