# Data sources & integrations

What a data source is in Instasent: the ways contacts and events flow into your project — CSV and copy-paste, native connectors, and the Ingest API and webhook platforms — how each one syncs, and where this differs from connected apps.

**Language:** en
**Audience:** platform
**TLDR:** To add contacts to your project, open Data sources and pick a route: upload a CSV or copy-paste rows (manual import), a native connector (Shopify, Klaviyo, WooCommerce…) that syncs on its own, or the Ingest API and webhook platforms (Make, Zapier) in real time. An import can also set each contact's marketing consent, and duplicates are merged by email and phone into a single profile.
**Translation key:** platform.data-sources.overview
**Search keywords:** no contacts yet, add contacts, upload contacts, upload list, Excel, data source, data sources, integration, integrations, connector, connectors, sync, synchronization, import, import contacts, CSV, copy and paste, webhook, ingest, ingest api, Shopify, Klaviyo, WooCommerce, Make, Zapier
**Related pages:** /platform/es/data-sources, /platform/en/data-sources/managing, /platform/en/data-sources/csv-copy-paste, /platform/en/data-sources/api-webhooks, /platform/en/data-sources/connectors, /platform/en/developers-and-apps
**Docs index (every page):** https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt
**This zone's index:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/llms.txt
**This page:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/data-sources/ (HTML) · https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/data-sources.md (Markdown)
**Other language (es):** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/es/data-sources.md

A data source is any way contacts and events flow **into** your Instasent project.
It is the inbound side of your data: every contact in your audience came in through
one or more sources, and each one records where the data originated. This page
explains the kinds of data source, how they keep your audience up to date, and how
data sources differ from connected apps.

The idea behind it is simple: your customer data is scattered across several tools,
and this is where it comes together. Connect your store, your CRM, your forms and
your automation tools, and Instasent unifies all of them into a single audience —
each source syncing on its own, and contacts that show up in more than one are
merged by email and phone into a single profile:

![The data sources list with several connected sources — a store, a CRM, spreadsheets, forms and webhook platforms — each with its status, contact count and last activity](/platform/en/data-sources/images/data-sources--2-connected-sources.png)
*Many sources, one audience — connect a store, a CRM, forms and automation tools, and Instasent unifies their contacts for you.*

## The kinds of data source

When you add a data source you choose one of three families, grouped in the
creation grid:

- [CSV & copy-paste](/platform/en/data-sources/csv-copy-paste) - Upload a CSV file, paste rows from a spreadsheet, or re-upload to update an existing import.
- [Connectors](/platform/en/data-sources/connectors) - Native integrations with platforms like Shopify, Klaviyo or WooCommerce that sync on their own.
- [API & webhooks](/platform/en/data-sources/api-webhooks) - The Ingest API and webhook platforms (Make, Zapier and others) that push data in real time.

- **CSV & copy-paste** — a one-time import you run yourself: upload a `.csv` file
  or paste delimited rows from a spreadsheet. You can re-run the same import later
  to refresh the data. This is the manual route, with no live connection.
- **Connectors** — a native integration with an external platform. Once connected,
  it keeps the data flowing without further action: Shopify pushes orders in real
  time, Klaviyo keeps lists and events up to date periodically (through real-time
  webhooks plus a regular poll). Each connector authenticates with the platform
  (OAuth or an API key) and then runs on its own.
- **API & webhooks** — a programmatic channel. The **Instasent Ingest API** and the
  webhook platforms (Make, Zapier and the rest) send contacts and events into the
  project as they happen, using credentials the panel generates for the source.

![The data source creation grid with the CSV, Developers and Integrations sections](/platform/en/data-sources/images/data-sources--1-create-grid.png)
*The data source creation grid: CSV files, developer sources (API and webhooks) and the integration connectors.*

## How data sources sync

How fresh your data stays depends on the kind of source:

| Kind                           | How data arrives                                                         |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| CSV & copy-paste               | One-time import you trigger; re-run it to refresh                        |
| Ingest API & webhook platforms | Real time — data is pushed in as it happens                              |
| Native connectors              | Real time (e.g. Shopify orders) or periodic polling (e.g. Klaviyo lists) |

Every source runs an initial import when you create it, and most can be
re-synced on demand from the source's detail screen. Hovering a source shows its
recent syncs and lets you force one. For details on monitoring and forcing syncs,
see [Managing data sources](/platform/en/data-sources/managing).

## Importing brings consent with it

A data source doesn't just bring names and attributes — it can also set each
contact's **marketing consent**. When you import, you decide how the source's
subscription status maps onto Instasent's consent attributes, and connectors carry
their own consent mapping. This matters: setting the wrong value can either
suppress contacts who opted in or message contacts who never agreed. The mapping
rules live in [Consent](/platform/en/consent); each import flow and each connector
page links to them where it applies.

## Data sources vs connected apps

Data sources and [connected apps](/platform/en/developers-and-apps) are two different
directions:

- A **data source** brings data **into** Instasent. Shopify as a data source means
  *Instasent reads your store's customers and orders*.
- A **connected app** lets an external tool **operate on** your Instasent account —
  an AI agent or a third-party app acting through the API.

Some platforms can appear in both roles, but the surfaces are separate: data
sources are managed here, under **Data sources**; connected apps have their own
section. If your goal is to feed contacts and events in, you are in the right
place.

{/* VERIFY: the panel does not expose a separate "connected apps" surface inside the data sources module, and does not visually distinguish an inbound-ingest OAuth from an operational one — confirm the boundary copy against the shipped UI. */}

## Where to go next

- [Managing data sources](/platform/en/data-sources/managing) - Create, monitor, re-sync, reconnect and delete sources; field mapping and unification.
- [CSV & copy-paste](/platform/en/data-sources/csv-copy-paste) - File format, the import wizard, updating by re-upload, and importing consent.
- [API & webhooks](/platform/en/data-sources/api-webhooks) - The Ingest API credentials and webhook platforms.
- [Connectors](/platform/en/data-sources/connectors) - The native integrations and one page per connector.

---

This is one page of the Instasent documentation. For the complete machine-readable index of every guide and API reference, fetch https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt — start there for full context.