---
title: External systems and apps steps
description: Learn about action steps for interacting with external systems such as Slack or Jira.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/explore-analyze/workflows/steps/external-systems-apps
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elastic Stack
  - Kibana
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview
  - Elastic Stack: Preview since 9.3
---

# External systems and apps steps
External systems actions allow your workflows to communicate with third-party services and custom endpoints. You can interact with external systems in the following ways:
- [Connector-based actions](#connector-based-actions): Use pre-configured connectors to integrate with services such as Slack and Jira
- [HTTP actions](#http-actions): Make direct HTTP requests to any API endpoint


## Connector-based actions

Connector-based actions use Kibana's centralized Connectors framework. Before using them, you must first [configure a connector](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/deploy-manage/manage-connectors).
The step `type` is a keyword for the service (for example, `slack` or `jira`). You must also provide a `connector-id` at the same level as `type`.
To view the available connectors, click **Actions menu** and select **External Systems & Apps**.

### Identify a connector

The `connector-id` field accepts one of the following:
- The unique name you gave the connector (for example, `"my-slack-connector"`). This is the recommended method for readability.
- The connector's raw ID (for example, `"d6b62e80-ff9b-11ee-8678-0f2b2c0c3c68"`).


### Example: Send a Slack notification

This example uses a pre-configured Slack connector named `"security-alerts-channel"`.
```yaml
steps:
  - name: notify_security_channel
    type: slack
    connector-id: "security-alerts-channel"
    with:
      message: "High-priority alert: {{ event.name }}. Please investigate immediately."
```


### Example: Create a Jira issue

This example uses a Jira connector named `"engineering-project"`.
```yaml
steps:
  - name: create_jira_ticket
    type: jira
    connector-id: "engineering-project"
    with:
      projectKey: "ENG"
      issueType: "Task"
      summary: "Automated Task: Review '{{ event.name }}'"
      description: "Workflow '{{ workflow.name }}' requires manual review for a potential issue."
```


## HTTP actions

The native `http` action is a built-in HTTP client that does not require a pre-configured connector. Use it for one-off requests to public or internal APIs.
Use the following parameters in the `with` block to configure the request:

| Parameter | Required               | Description                                         |
|-----------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| `url`     | Yes                    | The full URL of the endpoint to call                |
| `method`  | No (defaults to `GET`) | The HTTP method (`GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, or `DELETE`) |
| `headers` | No                     | An object with key-value pairs for HTTP headers     |
| `body`    | No                     | The request body (typically a JSON object)          |

<admonition title="Known limitation">
  The native `http` action does not have access to a centralized secret store for managing authentication credentials. If your endpoint requires authentication, you must include the credentials directly in the `headers` block.
  <dropdown title="Click to show syntax example">
    ```yaml
    steps:
      - name: call_secure_api
        type: http
        with:
          url: "https://api.thirdparty.com/v1/data"
          method: "GET"
          headers:
            Authorization: "Bearer my-secret-api-token"
    ```
  </dropdown>
</admonition>


### Example: Call a custom webhook

This example makes a POST request to a custom automation endpoint, passing data from the workflow context.
```yaml
steps:
  - name: trigger_custom_automation
    type: http
    with:
      url: "https://hooks.example.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
      method: "POST"
      headers:
        Content-Type: "application/json"
      body:
        event_id: "{{ event.id }}"
        message: "Workflow action triggered by '{{ workflow.name }}'"
```