#5-Managing Integration Connections & Permissions

An integration does more than connect Novus to another service.

It also determines which external resources Novus can access and what operations the connected account is allowed to perform.

For example:

Novus

↓

Connected Google Account

↓

Google Sheets / Google Drive

↓

Authorized Resources

A correctly configured integration should provide enough access for the workflow to function without unnecessarily exposing unrelated information.

Understanding an Integration Connection

A connection represents an authorized relationship between Novus and an external service.

For example:

Novus Server

→ Google Account

→ Support Spreadsheet

A connection may then be used by one or more supported workflows.

The exact connection and permission options available depend on the integration and Novus version enabled for your deployment.

Connection vs Destination

These are different concepts.

Connection

Identifies the external account or service authorization.

Example:

Support Operations Google Account

Destination

Identifies the specific resource used by the workflow.

Example:

Spreadsheet: Novus Support Tracker

or:

Drive Folder: Novus Ticket Archive

Think of it as:

Connection

→ Who provides access?

Destination

→ Where should the data go?

Example

A Google account may have access to:

• Support Tracker
• Development Tracker
• Ticket Archive
• Application Archive

Connecting the account does not mean every workflow should use every resource.

Each workflow should still point to the appropriate destination.

Use an Appropriate Account

For organizational integrations, consider using an account intended for organizational operations rather than an administrator's unrelated personal account.

For example:

Better

Support Operations Account

instead of:

Personal Administrator Account

This makes ownership easier to manage if administrators change later.

Why Account Ownership Matters

Suppose an integration is connected using one administrator's personal account.

Later:

• The administrator leaves the project.
• Their Google access is removed.
• Their account is disabled.
• Their password or security configuration changes.

The Novus integration may lose access to important resources.

Using an organizationally controlled account reduces this dependency.

Principle of Least Privilege

A connected account should have only the access required to perform its job.

This is known as the principle of least privilege.

For example, if Novus only needs to update:

Novus Support Tracker

there is no operational reason for the support workflow to depend on access to unrelated private documents.

Google Sheets Permissions

Google Sheets commonly uses access levels such as:

• Viewer
• Commenter
• Editor

If Novus needs to create or update records, the connected account generally needs sufficient edit access to the target spreadsheet.

A Viewer-only account may be able to access the resource but not perform the required write operation.

Example Sheets Permission Problem

Suppose:

Connected Account

has:

Viewer

access to:

Novus Support Tracker

The integration tries to:

Create Row

The operation may fail because the account cannot edit the spreadsheet.

The connection itself may still appear valid.

This is why:

Connected

does not always mean:

Authorized for the requested action

Google Drive Permissions

Google Drive destinations also require appropriate access.

For example, if Novus needs to create an archive inside:

Novus Ticket Archive

the connected account must have sufficient permission to create the supported file in that destination.

Parent Folder Permissions

When using Google Drive, review the parent folder.

For example:

Novus Ticket Archive

→ General

→ Technical

→ Payment

Access inherited from the parent folder can affect the resources inside it.

Do not review only the individual transcript file.

Discord Permissions and Google Permissions Are Separate

A private Discord ticket does not automatically create a private Google resource.

For example:

Discord

#payment-ticket-1042

may only be visible to:

• Ticket Owner
• Payment Staff

But if its archive is placed in a broadly shared Google Drive folder, additional people may gain access.

Always review both permission systems.

Example Incorrect Configuration

Discord

Payment ticket access:

Payment Team Only

Google Drive

Payment archive folder:

All Moderators

This creates a privacy mismatch.

Better Configuration

Discord

Payment ticket:

Authorized Payment Staff

Google Drive

Payment archive:

Authorized Payment Staff

The external destination should follow the same general sensitivity requirements as the original data.

Separate Sensitive Resources

Do not force every support workflow into the same spreadsheet or Drive folder.

For example:

General Support

Sheet: General Support Tracker

Drive: General Archive

Technical Support

Sheet: Technical Tracker

Drive: Technical Archive

Payment Support

Sheet: Restricted Payment Tracker

Drive: Restricted Payment Archive

This allows different permission policies.

Shared Resources

A spreadsheet or folder can be shared with the connected account instead of being owned by it.

For example:

Organization Owner

owns:

Novus Support Tracker

and shares it with:

Novus Integration Account

This can work well because the organization retains ownership while the integration account receives the required access.

Ownership vs Access

Do not confuse:

Owns the resource

with:

Can access the resource

Novus may not need the connected account to own every resource.

It only needs the permissions required by the configured workflow.

Avoid Unnecessary Public Sharing

Do not solve integration permission problems by changing a private resource to:

Anyone with the link

This may make the workflow appear easier to configure, but it can unnecessarily expose support information.

Instead, grant the connected account the appropriate direct access.

Never Share Credentials With Staff

Staff members should not need the Google account password simply because Novus uses that account.

Use proper account authorization and resource sharing.

Avoid sharing:

• Passwords
• Recovery codes
• Authentication tokens
• Session information
• API credentials

between staff members.

Authorization

When connecting an external service, the provider may ask you to authorize specific permissions.

Read the authorization request before approving it.

Make sure:

• You selected the intended account.
• The account belongs to the intended organization or administrator.
• You understand what the integration needs.
• You are not accidentally authorizing the wrong Google account.

Wrong Account Authorization

A common mistake is being signed into several Google accounts.

For example:

• Personal Gmail
• Business Account
• Support Account

Then the administrator accidentally authorizes:

Personal Gmail

instead of:

Support Account

Always verify the account shown during authorization.

Connection Ownership

Your team should know who is responsible for maintaining each integration.

For example:

Integration	Responsible Team
Google Sheets Support Tracker	Support Administration
Google Drive Archive	Server Administration
Bug Tracker	Development Team
Application Tracker	Community Management

This prevents integrations from becoming abandoned configurations.

Document Your Integration Ownership

For important production integrations, record:

• Integration name
• Purpose
• Connected account
• Responsible administrator/team
• Destination
• Sensitive-data classification
• Last successful test

Do not document passwords or authentication secrets in this record.

Example Integration Register

Integration	Purpose	Destination	Owner
Support Tracker	Ticket reporting	Support Sheet	Support Admin
Ticket Archive	Transcript storage	Support Drive	Server Admin
Bug Reports	Development tracking	Bug Sheet	Dev Team

This becomes especially useful on larger servers.

Revoked Access

An integration can stop working even if nobody changes the Novus configuration.

For example, someone may remove the connected account from:

Novus Support Tracker

The Novus mapping still points to the same spreadsheet, but the connected account no longer has permission.

Common Causes of Lost Access

External access can change because:

• Resource permission was removed.
• Connected account was disabled.
• Authorization was revoked.
• Organization security policy changed.
• Resource ownership changed.
• Shared folder access changed.
• Resource was deleted.
• Connected account changed.

These are external configuration changes, not necessarily Novus errors.

Reconnecting an Integration

If authorization expires or is revoked, the integration may need to be reconnected.

A safe reconnection process is:

1. Identify the affected connection.

2. Verify the intended external account.

3. Confirm the account still has access to required resources.

4. Reauthorize the integration using the intended account.

5. Verify destinations and mappings.

6. Run a test workflow.

Do not assume reconnecting automatically fixes unrelated destination or mapping problems.

Reconnecting Does Not Fix Everything

Suppose Google authorization is valid, but someone deleted:

Technical

from the spreadsheet.

Reconnecting Google will not recreate the missing worksheet unless the integration explicitly provides such behavior.

Always determine whether the problem is:

Connection

Permission

Destination

Mapping

or:

Workflow

Connection Health vs Workflow Health

These should be considered separately.

Connection Health

Can Novus communicate with the external service?

Resource Access

Can the connected account access the selected destination?

Mapping Health

Do the configured sources and destinations still exist?

Workflow Health

Did the expected trigger and action execute?

This distinction makes troubleshooting much faster.

Example Troubleshooting Flow

Suppose a ticket closes but no Google Sheets update appears.

Check:

Step 1 — Connection

Is Google still connected?

↓

Step 2 — Account

Is the correct account connected?

↓

Step 3 — Permission

Can that account edit the spreadsheet?

↓

Step 4 — Destination

Does the spreadsheet and worksheet still exist?

↓

Step 5 — Mapping

Does the Status mapping still point to the correct column?

↓

Step 6 — Trigger

Did the Ticket Closed workflow run?

This is better than immediately deleting and rebuilding the integration.

Changing the Connected Account

Sometimes an organization needs to move an integration from one account to another.

For example:

Old

Administrator Personal Account

↓

New

Organization Support Account

Do this carefully.

Safe Account Migration

A recommended migration process is:

1. Prepare the new account.

Give it access to the required Sheets and Drive folders.

2. Verify permissions manually.

Confirm the new account can access the resources.

3. Connect or reauthorize using the new account.

4. Review destinations.

Make sure the expected resources are still selected.

5. Review mappings.

Confirm nothing changed.

6. Run test tickets.

Test Sheets and Drive separately.

7. Remove old account access only after successful testing.

This reduces downtime.

Do Not Remove the Old Account Too Early

If you remove the old account before confirming the new connection works, production integrations may immediately stop.

Complete the transition first.

Then remove unnecessary old access.

Administrator Departure

If the administrator responsible for an integration leaves the project:

• Review all integrations they managed.
• Identify resources they personally own.
• Transfer ownership where appropriate.
• Move authorization to an organizationally controlled account where possible.
• Remove unnecessary former-administrator access.
• Test every affected workflow.

Do not wait until an integration fails.

Changing Google Drive Ownership

If important archive folders are owned by a personal account, consider moving organizational control to an appropriate account or shared organizational structure where supported.

The goal is to avoid critical archives depending entirely on one individual.

Changing Google Sheets Ownership

The same principle applies to spreadsheets.

Important production trackers should remain accessible to the organization even if one administrator is unavailable.

Removing a Connection

Before disconnecting an external account, determine which workflows depend on it.

For example:

Google Connection A

may be used by:

• General Support Tracker
• Technical Support Tracker
• Ticket Archive
• Applications

Disconnecting it could affect all of them.

Before Disconnecting

Check:

• Which integrations use the connection?
• Which categories depend on it?
• Are there pending tickets?
• Is transcript archiving dependent on it?
• Is another account ready?
• Have you tested the replacement?

Disconnect only when you understand the impact.

Do Not Delete External Data Automatically

Disconnecting an integration should not be treated as permission to delete existing external records.

For example:

Disconnecting Google Sheets should not imply:

Delete all ticket rows

Likewise:

Disconnecting Google Drive should not imply:

Delete all archived transcripts

Connection management and data retention are separate concerns.

Multiple Connections

Larger organizations may intentionally use multiple external accounts.

For example:

Support Connection

Used for:

• General Support
• Technical Support

Finance Connection

Used for:

• Payment Support

Community Connection

Used for:

• Guild Applications
• Streamer Applications

This can provide stronger separation between departments.

Benefits of Multiple Connections

Multiple connections can improve:

• Permission isolation
• Ownership clarity
• Security
• Department separation

However, they also increase configuration complexity.

Use multiple connections only when there is a clear operational reason.

One Connection for Small Communities

A smaller server may only need:

One organizational Google account

with access to:

• Support Tracker
• Ticket Archive
• Applications

This is easier to maintain.

You can still separate permissions through destination sharing and folder structure where appropriate.

Sensitive Integration Access

Only trusted administrators should be able to change integrations that handle sensitive support data.

Changing a destination could redirect information to the wrong external resource.

For example:

Payment Support

currently maps to:

Restricted Payment Tracker

An unauthorized configuration change could redirect it to:

Public Staff Tracker

Integration configuration should therefore be treated as an administrative permission.

Review Changes Carefully

Important integration changes should be tested after modifying:

• Connected account
• Spreadsheet
• Worksheet
• Drive folder
• Ticket Category
• Mapping
• Trigger
• Permission
• Form field

A configuration may remain syntactically valid while producing the wrong operational result.

Periodic Access Review

Periodically review production integrations.

Ask:

• Is this connection still required?
• Does the connected account still belong to the organization?
• Does it have unnecessary access?
• Are former staff still shared on the resource?
• Are sensitive folders properly restricted?
• Are destinations still active?
• Are workflows still being used?

This prevents old configurations from becoming long-term security risks.

Example Quarterly Review

For each integration:

Connection: Active

Account: Correct

Destination: Correct

Permissions: Reviewed

Mapping: Current

Trigger: Current

Test: Passed

You do not need to constantly reconfigure working integrations, but periodic verification is valuable.

Connection Security Checklist

For every production connection:

• Use the intended external account.
• Prefer organizational ownership where practical.
• Avoid unnecessary personal-account dependency.
• Grant only required permissions.
• Do not expose resources publicly to fix permission problems.
• Do not share account passwords.
• Protect recovery and authentication information.
• Review sensitive destinations separately.
• Know which administrator owns the configuration.
• Document the integration purpose.
• Review access when staff roles change.
• Remove unnecessary former-staff access.
• Test after authorization changes.
• Test after destination permission changes.
• Review all dependent workflows before disconnecting.

Google Sheets Permission Checklist

Verify:

• Connected account can access the spreadsheet.
• Required worksheet exists.
• Account can perform the required action.
• Sensitive worksheets are appropriately restricted.
• Public sharing is disabled unless intentionally required.
• Former staff do not retain unnecessary access.
• Production mappings point to the correct resource.

Google Drive Permission Checklist

Verify:

• Connected account can access the archive folder.
• Required subfolders exist.
• Account can perform the required archive operation.
• Sensitive folders are restricted.
• Parent-folder permissions are understood.
• Public sharing is disabled unless intentionally required.
• File organization matches Ticket Categories.
• Archive ownership will survive administrator changes.

Recommended Small Server Setup

For a smaller community:

Connection

One organizational Google account

Google Sheets

Novus Support Tracker

Google Drive

Novus Ticket Archive

Access

Server Owner + selected Support Administrators

Keep the configuration simple while maintaining appropriate privacy.

Recommended Larger Server Setup

For a larger organization:

Support Operations

Connection: Support Account

Resources:

• General Support Tracker
• Technical Tracker
• General Archive
• Technical Archive

Sensitive Operations

Connection: Restricted Operations Account

Resources:

• Payment Tracker
• Payment Archive

Community Management

Connection: Community Account

Resources:

• Guild Applications
• Streamer Applications
• Community Archive

This provides clearer separation of responsibilities.

Recommended Security Model

A strong integration model follows:

Member Data

↓

Novus Workflow

↓

Authorized Connection

↓

Approved Destination

↓

Authorized Staff Only

Every step should have a clear reason for accessing the information.

Never Use Integrations as a Shortcut Around Permissions

Integrations should extend your support workflow, not bypass security.

If a user cannot access a sensitive Discord ticket, they should not automatically gain access to its external archive simply because they can access a shared Google folder.

Maintain equivalent or stronger protections outside Discord.

Final Connection Review

Before considering an integration production-ready, verify:

Who owns the connection?

Which external account is connected?

What can that account access?

Which Novus workflows use it?

Where does each workflow send data?

Who can access those destinations?

What happens if the account is removed?

Who is responsible for maintaining it?

If your team can answer all of these clearly, your integration configuration is much easier to maintain safely.

Next Step

Continue to Testing & Troubleshooting Integrations.