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Provider vs Integration

Providers and integrations are related, but they are not the same thing.

If you keep one rule in mind, use this one:

  • a provider is the template
  • an integration is your actual connection created from that template

Quick model

Term What it is Example
Provider Wodby's definition of how to work with a third-party service AWS, GitHub, OpenAI
Integration Your configured connection created from a provider AWS production account, GitHub org connection, OpenAI team key
Variable provider A provider whose main job is to expose environment variables Sentry, Stripe, or your own custom variable provider
Variable integration A concrete integration created from a variable provider Stripe production keys, Sentry staging DSN

How they relate

The usual flow is:

  1. choose a provider
  2. create an integration from that provider
  3. assign the integration to one or more projects
  4. use that integration from Kubernetes, databases, stacks, or app services

Provider

A provider defines:

  • required fields
  • supported integration kinds or types
  • auth method
  • any variables the provider exposes
  • any provider-specific setup rules

Providers are reusable product definitions, not your credentials.

Integration

An integration is your actual configured object inside Wodby.

This is where you store:

  • credentials
  • account IDs
  • DSNs
  • API keys
  • repository access details
  • storage bucket access

Integrations are the objects you actually attach to apps, stacks, clusters, backups, and other workflows.

Variable providers and variable integrations

Variable providers are useful when the result you want is a reusable set of environment variables rather than a full infrastructure integration.

Use a variable provider and integration when:

  • you want to centralize third-party credentials
  • the same values are reused across multiple apps or stacks
  • Wodby does not yet ship a built-in provider for that service

Use plain app-service environment variables instead when the value is one-off and not worth centralizing.

Examples

Example 1: AWS

  • Provider: AWS
  • Integration: AWS account for production
  • Result: can be used for Kubernetes, storage, or other AWS-backed workflows depending on the selected kinds

Example 2: Sentry

  • Provider: Sentry
  • Integration: Sentry for staging
  • Result: injects Sentry-related environment variables into the app services where you attach it

Example 3: Custom variable provider

  • Provider: Acme internal APIs
  • Integration: Acme production credentials
  • Result: exposes the environment variables you defined in that custom provider