How Open Data Labs Works

Open Data Labs uses a hosted Connect model. Your backend creates short-lived Connect sessions, and your frontend opens the returned hosted URL in an embedded flow.

The current flow

Step 1: Your server creates a Connect session

Your backend calls the API with:

your server API key
the source to connect
the scopes you want to request
the exact origin where the flow will run

Step 2: Open Data Labs validates the request

Before returning a Connect URL, Open Data Labs checks:

that the source is available
that the request is authenticated
that the requested origin is approved for your account

Step 3: The hosted Connect flow runs

The user completes the connection flow in an Open Data Labs-hosted interface. Your application does not need to build the source-specific auth and automation flow itself.

Step 4: Your app receives lifecycle events

The hosted flow posts events back to the embedding page, including:

ready
success
exit

Trust model

Component	Responsibility
Your server	Holds the API key and creates Connect sessions
Your frontend	Opens the hosted Connect flow
Open Data Labs	Hosts the Connect UI and executes the source-specific flow
The user	Authenticates and grants access

Approved domains

Open Data Labs enforces approved domains as part of Connect session creation.

That means:

the browser origin must match an approved domain exactly
local development domains can be added separately
unsupported or mismatched origins are rejected before the session is created

Supported sources

The public source catalog currently includes:

Instagram
iCloud Notes

Roadmap sources may appear in product demos or catalog responses as coming_soon, but only available sources should be used in production integrations.

Questions? Get in touch! [email protected]