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What is an internal connection?

An internal connection is scoped to a single Notion workspace. Only members of that workspace can use it. Internal connections are ideal for building custom automations and workflows — things like syncing data from external tools, sending notifications when pages change, or powering internal dashboards. Internal connections use a static API token for authentication. There’s no OAuth flow to implement — you get a token immediately when you create the connection, and you use that same token for every API request. In this guide, you’ll learn:
  • How internal connection permissions work (and how they differ from public connections)
  • How to create an internal connection and share pages with it
  • How to authenticate API requests using your installation access token

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How permissions work

An internal connection operates as its own bot user. It is not tied to any specific workspace member. This means:
  • Permissions belong to the connection, not to a person. When a page is shared with the connection, the connection itself has access — regardless of which workspace member shared it.
  • Access is inherited. Sharing a parent page with the connection grants access to all of its child pages as well.
  • Access persists independently of users. If the user who shared a page leaves the workspace, the connection retains access to that page.
  • Any Workspace Owner can see the connection. All internal connections are visible in the Creator dashboard to every Workspace Owner in the workspace, including connections created by others.
This is one of the biggest differences from public connections, where the connection acts on behalf of the individual user who authorized it.

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Creating an internal connection

You must be a Workspace Owner to create a connection.
1
Navigate to the Creator dashboard.
2
In the Build section of the sidebar, select Internal connections.
3
Click Create a new connection and fill in the connection name and installation scope.
4
After creation, visit the Configuration tab to retrieve your Installation access token.
You can also configure the connection’s capabilities — such as whether it can read content, update content, insert content, or read user information — from the Configuration tab.

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Granting page access

Before your connection can access any data, it must be explicitly granted access to pages or databases. There are two ways to do this.

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From the Creator dashboard

The connection owner can manage access directly from the Content access tab in the Creator dashboard. This is the quickest way to get started after creating a connection.
1
Open your connection in the Creator dashboard.
2
Click the Content access tab.
3
Click Edit access, then select the pages and databases you want the connection to access.

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From the Notion UI

Workspace members can also share individual pages with the connection from within Notion.
1
Open a Notion page you want the connection to access.
2
Click the ••• menu in the top-right corner of the page.
3
Select Connections, then click + Add connection.
4
Search for your connection and select it.
5
Confirm the connection can access the page and all of its child pages.
Your connection needs page access to make API requestsA newly created connection has no page access by default. If you skip this step, any API request will return an error. Use the Content access tab or Add connections menu to grant access before making requests.

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Authentication

Internal connections authenticate every API request using the API token retrieved from the Configuration tab. Include the token in the Authorization header: 
GET /v1/pages/b55c9c91-384d-452b-81db-d1ef79372b75 HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer {INTEGRATION_TOKEN}
If you’re using the Notion SDK for JavaScript, the token is set once when initializing the client: 
const { Client } = require("@notionhq/client")

const notion = new Client({
	auth: process.env.NOTION_TOKEN,
})
Keep your token secret. Never store the token in source code or commit it to version control. Use environment variables or a secret manager instead. If your token is accidentally exposed, you can refresh it from the connection’s Configuration tab.Learn more: Best practices for handling API keys
For the full details on internal connection authentication, see the Authorization guide.

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Next steps

Getting started

Build your first connection with a hands-on tutorial.

API reference

Explore all available endpoints.